Hurt Like This
by AnnikaMalfoy
Summary: Sequel to Without You. What happens when Jake imprints? And Kyle comes to Forks for a new toy? Can the Cullens protect Bella from it all? Will Bella find that she still loves Edward? Or is she destined to spend her life alone?
1. I Didn't Sign Up For This!

**JACOB**

I spent the whole day on cloud nine. An hour felt like a minute. I really couldn't wait to get through my patrol and back to Bella. I was still in awe about what had happened the night before. She had finally given herself to me completely and I couldn't have asked for anything better. I to do that again and again with her everyday for the rest of my life.

I was sitting in my last hour, Biology, with Quil and Embry on either side of me. I, of course, had told him all about last night. They would;ve found out the minute we phased anyway. They were still talking about it and asking me questions. I didn't mind the things they had to say really. They weren't being vulgar about it or rude to Bella so it was all good.

The bell rang and Mrs. Smith entered the room. She sat down at her desk and with seven little words destroyed everything,

"Class, we have a new student today. Her name is Alyssa Solomen and I want you all to make her feel welcome. Come on in, Alyssa."

The door opened and in walked the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. She was about five feet tall and weighed no more the one hundred and forty pounds. She had a lighter complexion than the other girls on the reservation. Her long, completely straight jet black hair was pulled back into a ponytail. It made her facial feature stand out a bit more. She had brown eyes and wore thin framed glasses. She had a smile that lit up her whole face and revealed her perfect teeth.

She was saying something but I wasn't taking in a word. I was to busy marveling at her perfection. It felt as if my life was hinged on this girl. I knew I wouldn't be able to live my life without her. I had completely forgotten about everyone and everything else as I watched her beautiful mouth move. Suddenly, there was a hand obscuring my view of the beauty called Alyssa.

"Earth to Jacob." I heard Quil voice in my ear.

I blinked and shook my head coming out of the trance.

"Dude, please don't tell me, you just did what I think you did?" Embry said.

With his voice everything came crashing back in. The past eight months with Bella and what we did last night. How much I loved her and she loved me. The fact that I had planned on proposing after I graduated. It was all ruined now.

"Fuck!" I whispered. "I'm so screwed!"

I put my head in my hands unsure of where to go from here.

"This can't be happening." I ranted. "I love Bella and wanna be with her."

"I know man." Embry stated. "Just keep it together until after class. Then you can go talk to Sam and figure this out."

"What's there to figure out?" I said. "It's set in stone."

I didn't notice until just then that Alyssa had taken a seat at the table in front of ours. She was talking two girls. I was pretty sure I heard my name with my extra sensitive hearing. Suddenly, she turned around and stared into my eyes. Her lips pulled up into that beautiful smile and I could see the slight traces of a blush. She was so beautiful. No, damn it! Bella was beautiful this new girl was nothing compared to her.

"Hi, my name's Alyssa but you can call me Aly." she said and stuck out her hand.

"My name's Jacob." I said taking her hand.

What was I doing? I didn't want to meet her. I wanted to stay as far from her as possible. She wasn't Bella. Bella was what I wanted. Questions started pouring out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"So why did you come to this reservation?" I asked.

"My mom died a couple months back and dad couldn't handle it where we were. So we decided to start fresh here, just he and I." she replied.

I felt worse the I should've to hear that her mother had died. Damn it! Stop this! Bella, Bella, Bella!

"I'm sorry to that. About your mom, I mean. I'm glad you came to LaPush." I said.

No, I wasn't. I wanted her to stay as far away from here as possible. She was going to ruin everything. I wanted Bella not her. My mouth needed to stop this crazy talk.

"If you're free, maybe we could get together tomorrow and I can show you around." I blurted out. What'd you do that for? I don't want to spend any more time with her. I wanted her far away from me.

"That would be great." she replied then her friend tapped her shoulder and Aly turned back to her.

I spent the rest of the period with my head on the table trying to find a way out of this. When the bell rang, I was the first to exit the classroom. I made it to my locker and out the door in record time.

Twenty minutes later, I was knocking on Sam's door. It was Emily who answered. She looked me up and down.

"Hey Jake." she said. "Are you alright? You look upset."

"Is Sam home? I need to talk to him." I said.

"He's taking a nap." she said. "Can it wait 'til later?"

"I'm sorry but it's really important." I said.

"Okay, come in." she agreed. "I'll go wake him."

"Thanks." I said and went to wait in the living room.

I sat on the couch and waited. With my extra sensitive hearing, I could hear Emily waking Sam.

"Sam, honey," she said. I imagined she was shaking him. "I hate to bother you but Jake's here. He's says he needs to talk to you about something important. He looks pretty rough too."

I sighed. Did she have to add what I looked like?

"Okay." Sam replied groggily. "Tell him I'll be out in a minute."

Emily appeared in the living room a few moments later.

"He's says he'll be out in a minute. Can I get you anything?" she asked.

"No, thank you, Emily." I replied.

"Okay, let me know if you cahnge your mind." She walked out of the living room.

Sam appeared a minute later.

"What's up Jake?" he asked then stopped. "Whoa, Emily was right. You look terrible. What happened?"

"I think I imprinted today." I said. I couldn't keep the tremble out of my face.

"Damn it!" Sam yelled. "Tell me what happened and what you felt."

"Mrs. Smith said we had a new student, Alyssa Solomen, and told her to come in. The minute she walked in the door, I felt like nothing else in the world mattered. Like my life depended on her happiness and safety. I can remember every detail of her body and face. It wasn't until Quil and Embry got my attention that I pulled out of it. Then she talked to me and I couldn't help but talk back. I didn't want to but I couldn't stop. Sam, this can't be happening. I love Bella. I want her to have my children and grow old with me." I stated. I was practically begging for a way out.

"It may feel like that now." He said. "But after a few months of the bond between you and Alyssa, you won't anymore."

"No." I protested. "I'm going to fight this a beat it."

"You can't. God knows, Leah and I tried. It doesn't work. Alyssa will be naturally attracted to you. She's not gonna go away. Besides, take it from me, it's easier on all parties if you just give in to it."

"But I can't hurt Bella like _he_ did. I promised her that I wouldn't. I won't break the promise."

"But Jacob, you will no longer be able to give your whole heart to Bella. Not without feeling guilty about it. It isn't fair to Bella if you string her along. A clean break now before things between you and Alyssa progress too much will be best."

"No. I will not just walk away from Bella. I love her!"

"I know Jake. You have no idea. I love Bella like a sister and god knows I don't want her to hurt like that anymore. Which is why walking away cleanly now will be best for her. It'll hurt less now than finding out three months from now."

I knew what he was saying was true. I just didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to walk away from the girl who had my heart. Yet, I knew all about the imprint bond. Nothing would stop it. I knew that from hearing Leah, Sam, and Emily's story. Sam tried to ignore it and stay in love with Leah but it hadn't worked. Leah ended up getting the worst end of the deal.

It wasn't fair to do that to Bella. She'd be in enough pain having to lose me. I didn't want to put her through worse by keeping this from her.

"Why don't you take the afternoon off and go for a run?" Sam suggested. "Get your thoughts together and go tell her. I'm going to tell the pack to stay away from her for awhile. We want to make this as easy as possible for her."

"Right." I nodded. "She doesn't deserve this."

"I know." Sam said. "I wish there was another way."

"Me too." I stood and walked to the door.

"I'm sorry, Jake."

"Don't be. It's not your fault. It's just another part of the werewolf package."

I walked out the door and headed towards the woods. I ran for an hour trying to block out the thoughts of my brothers. I didn't need their pity. At five thirty, I went to Bella's house, still unsure of what I was going to say.

I sat on the couch staring at nothing for a half hour. Then I heard the bloodsucker pull into the driver with my sweet Bella. For one wild moment, I wanted to go out there and tear him to shreds. This was all his fault. If his kind didn't exist, I wouldn't be what I was. And if he hadn't have left her, I would've never gotten in this deep with her. The only thing that stopped me from killing him was not wanting the war I knew would come with an unprovoked attack.

I settled for just listening to her say goodbye to him. I caught her beautiful scent mixed with his disgusting one as the door opened and closed.

"Jake, are you here?" she called.

"In the living room." I called trying to sound normal.

She came in, sat next to me and pressed her lips to mine. I kissed her back with all the fierceness I could muster. If this was going to be our last kiss, I was going to make it unforgetable. She borke it after a minute.

"So," she said after catching her breath. "Last night was all I could think about today. I can't wait for a repeat performance." She trailed kisses down my neck. "Why don't we just skip dinner and go right to dessert."

Her lips were on mine again. She some how managed to straddled me. As gently as I could, I removed her hands from my neck and pushed her off of me.

"Bella, we need to talk." I stated and saw hurt flash across her face.

"The four words every girl dreads." she said and the pain was gone replaced by fury. "So what you get what you want finally and you wanna move on. Was everything in that letter bullshit then?"

"No, Bells calm down. It's not that?"

"Then what is it?" She had tears of pain and anger in her eyes. "Did you find someone else?!"

"Kind of." I said staring at the floor.

"What do you mean, kind of?" she yelled through her tears. "Either you have or you haven't! There's no kind of about it!"

"I imprinted today." I stated. I could hear the pain in my own voice.

"What?! You said it wasn't a common thing! You said that since Sam and Quil had done it then we were safe!"

"I know. I thought we were."

She was standing in front of me, tears streaming down her face. I reached up to wipe them away but she pulled back.

"Don't touch me!" she yelled and the tears came harder.

"Bella, you have to believe me, this is hurting me as much as it's hurting you." I pleaded.

"I doubt that! You're probably going to meet up with whatever the hell her name is when you leave!"

That made me angry. She made it sound like this was something I chose. She was blaming me for something I had no control over. She should've known that I'd always choose her if I could.

"I can't belive you would say that!" I found myself yelling. "If I had a choice, I would choose you. I'd always choose you. This isn't my fault! I didn't ask for any of this! If you wanna blame somebody, blame your prescious bloodsuckers! If they didn't exist, I wouldn't be what I am!"

She stood there for a moment. I could see her body trembling. I couldn't be sue if it was anger or pain. After a minute, she opened her mouth but closed it again.

"Get out, Jacob! Just get out! I never want to see you again!" she finally yelled.

She collapsed to the floor and began sobbing hysterically. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and tell her that I wasn't going anywhere. I wanted to tell her how much I loved her and wanted her. Yet, I knew it was impossible. It would only hurt more later if I turned back now.

I stepped around her and headed to the door.

"I'm sorry." I stated standing in the living room doorway. "I do love you. I wish there was another way."

I walked out the door and wasn't sure how I made it to the woods before phasing. I was met with the sad and sympathetic thoughts of my brothers. They would miss her as much as I would. Suddenly, Sam's stood out above the other's.

_"How did it go?" _

_"Not good."_

I replayed what happened in my head.

_"I'm sorry." _Sam thought.

_"I know." _

_"Why don't you take the night off and get some sleep?" _

_"Okay." _

_"I understand how you feel right now Jake. I felt the same way when I finally had to give Leah up. I promise, it'll get better." _

_"I hope your right." _

After that, I did my best to ignore their thoughts as I continued to run through the woods. I phased back the minute I made it to the edge. I ran to my house. Sam had obviously talked to Billy because he said nothing as I went directly to my room.

I cried out every bit of sadness and anger I felt until I fell into an uneasy sleep.

**A/N: I'm sorry Team Jacob fans. I tried but it didn't seem right to leave it like that. I'm not sure who Bella's gonna end up with though. I may just leave her alone. I don't know. I hope this chapter turned out okay. I'm not sure if I got some of the things with the imprinting bond right but just go with it. I also hope that Sam's feelings on the situation came out okay. I always got the impression that he wasn't as bothered by what happened as Leah was. I like to believe that he still feels the pain of losing someone he loved so much. I think part of him may still love her. That doesn't mean he loves Emily any less though. Anyway, please review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	2. Promises Kept and Broken

**BELLA**

The giddy feeling stayed with me all day. I couldn't stop thinking about how wonderful last night and couldn't wait to do it again tonight. Mostly though, I couldn't wait to wake up with Jacob tomorrow. I still had the feeling that someone was watching and following me. I passed it off as nothing. Roxanne's story about Kyle was still fresh in my mind. I decided it best not to say anything to anyone. It was most likely just paranoia.

Before I knew it, Edward and I were heading back to my house. I didn't tell him what happened last night because I didn't want things to get awkward again. I knew he'd just get it out of Alice's head after I told her. For me, though, that would be less awkward than actually having to say it to Edward. So we filled the ride with small talk. He told me more about Roxanne.

I was surprised when Edward told me that she had a gift. She could manipulate an objects or a persons molecules. To put it in Isabella terms, she could speed molecules up enough to make the object blow up or slow them down enough to were they stopped altogether. She never quite figured out how to control it but Carlisle was working with her now.

I felt a surge of disappointment when I didn't see Jacob's rabbit anywhere near the house as we pulled up. Edward's nose, however turned up in disgust and the smile he was wearing the whole time faded.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Jake is here." he told me.

I smiled but he didn't. I could tell there was something upsetting him. I knew it couldn't be the fact that Jake was over. Not when Jake was over almost everyday when Edward dropped me off.

"Edward, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing but if you need someone to talk to tonight, don't hesitate to call." he said.

"Okay." I replied very confused.

He kissed my cheek (A/N: Brotherly affection.) and I said good bye then headed to the house.

I walked in the front door and closed it. I was still very confused about what Edward had meant in the car. Why would I need someone to talk to tonight?

"Jake, are you here?" I yelled from the door.

"In the living room." he called.

I could tell there was something wrong when I heard his voice. My thoughts were confirmed when I stepped in the living room and saw his face. I wanted to ask him what was up but my hormones took over. I found myself kissing him. He kissed me back with more fierceness than usual. I figured his hormones were going just as crazy as mine. I broke it after a minute.

"So," I said after catching my breath. "Last night was all I could think about today. I can't wait for a repeat performance." I trailed kisses down his neck. "Why don't we just skip dinner and go right to dessert."

I pressed my lips to his again. I, once again, mananged to straddled him without breaking the kiss. I locked my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. I felt him grab my arms with a little more force than usual. He pushed me off of him

"Bella, we need to talk." He said.

The four words that only brought ill things to relationships. I had to swallow the lump in my thought. He was going to dump me after eight months. I couldn't believe this.

"The four words every girl dreads." I stated and mentally added, _"Especially after sex." _I knew instantly that was the reason he was doing this. He finally got me to have sex with him and know he was going to leave me. "So what you get what you want finally and you wanna move on. Was everything in that letter bullshit then?"

"No, Bells calm down. It's not that?"

"Then what is it?" I felt the tears of pain and rage fill my eyes. I tried to fight them. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry. "Did you find someone else?!"

"Kind of." he replied staring at the floor.

His answer made me angry. He had found someone else and was to chicken shit to admit it. Was I really that bad of a girlfriend? He needed to go find someone else.

"What do you mean, kind of?" I yelled through the tears I could no longer hold back. "Either you have or you haven't! There's no kind of about it!"

"I imprinted today." he stated.

I could hear the pain in his voice but I didn't care. How could he do this to me? He promised that we were safe. He promised that he wouldn't hurt me like Edward did. He broke both his promises in one fell swoop. And here I was alone again.

"What?!" I found myself yelling. "You said it wasn't a common thing! You said that since Sam and Quil had done it then we were safe!"

"I know. I thought we were."

I was standing there with tears streaming down my face. How could he hurt me like this? He stood up and reached towards my face. I stepped back away from him.

"Don't touch me!" I yelled and the tears came harder.

I could see the pain in his eyes. I knew it was hurting him too but I couldn't find it in my heart to care. He'd probably be over me and off with his little friend by tomorrow. I was going to be the one in pain for god only knew how long. He would be happy and that made me angry. Even though, I knew it wasn't his fault. I knew the imprint didn't leave either party with a choice. Still, I didn't care. He was breaking every promise in this one conversation and I hated him for it.

"Bella, you have to believe me, this is hurting me as much as it's hurting you." he pleaded.

"I doubt that! You're probably going to meet up with whatever the hell her name is when you leave!"

I could see the pain in his face but still I didn't care. I knew it sounded like I was blaming him for this. But I needed someone to be angry at. I needed someone to blame and hurt as much as I was hurting. So why nopt throw it all back to the man hurting me.

"I can't believe you would say that!" he yelled. "If I had a choice, I would choose you. I'd always choose you. This isn't my fault! I didn't ask for any of this! If you wanna blame somebody, blame your prescious bloodsuckers! If they didn't exist, I wouldn't be what I am!"

The last sentence through my anger over the edge. He was constantly talking about how it was the Cullens fault that the gene came back. He balmed them for that his not having a choice in being a werewolf. What he didn't seem to get was, none of the Cullens had a choice either. If they did, they'd all be under gravestones by now. I opened my mouth to point this out, yet again. Then I realized he'd never get it and closed it.

I knew I needed to end the conversation before we got to angry with each other. I didn't want Jacob to phase and do something he'd regret so I did the best thing I could.

"Get out, Jacob! Just get out! I never want to see you again!" I told him.

After that, the pain just became too much and I collasped to the floor and let my sobs take over. I heard his footsteps as he headed out of the living room. At some point he stopped and said,

"I'm sorry. I do love you. I wish there was another way."

Then I heard the front door open and close. I just let the sobs rack my entire body. I couldn't believe it. Everything we'd been through was for nothing. He was destined for someone else and I was destined to be alone.

I was surprised when I felt a pair of strong cold arms wrap around me. I didn't even hear the door open again. I just buried my head in Edward's chest and let the sobs rack through my body.

**EDWARD**

I didn't think it was possible for me to hate anyone as much as I hated Jacob Black right now. I cradled my broken angel in my arms as she cried over losing him. I knew he had been right to do what he did. It was better to get Bella out of this before things got too far with him and his imprintee. Yet, at the same time, I hated him.

He knew imprinting was a possibilty. Maybe not a major one but one all the same. So why in the hell did he let things get this far with Bella? He should've just left her alone and waited for the girl of his dreams to come. Now Bella was broken again. And I didn't know how to fix her.

She cried into my chest for what a half hour before she calmed enough to talk.

"You knew, didn't you?" she whispered.

"I knew he was going to tell you something that would upset you. Which is why I pulled around the corner and came back when he left." I explained.

"Thank you." she said. "I was so stupid. I should've seen this coming. I shouldn't have gone this far with him. I knew it was a possibility. Now look at me."

"Bella, stop." I said. I couldn;t believe she was blaming herself for this. Then again, it was typical Bella. "Your not stupid. Love is a normal human feeling and when you love someone, nothing else matters. Your just a human with human emotions stuck in the super natural world. Jacob's the one who should've been more careful."

Suddenly, she was sobbing again.

"He broke his promises. All of them." she sobbed. "He told me he'd never hurt me. He said we didn't have to worry about the imprint."

I held her close and made shushing noises as she cried. I thought about the promises I made her and broke. Suddenly, I realized this was exactly what she must have been like when we left. I didn't like it at all. I hated that she felt this way. I loathed him for making her like this. I loathed myself for making her like that. I made a promise to myself. I do everything in my power to keep her from becoming like this again. I woudl be the best big brother in I could be to her.

"Edward, I don't wanna be alone tonight. Can I stay at your house?" she asked in a whisper.

"It's your house too." I told her. "You don't have to ask. You can stay as long as you need."

"Thanks." she smiled. It was a sad one but a smile all the same.

"Why don't you pack a bag?" I told her. "I'm going to call Esme and let her know you're coming. Just to make sure we have food for you."

She was still trembling as she climbed the stairs to her room. I took my phone out of my pocket and dialed home.

"Hello?" Esme answered.

"Hey Esme, it's Edward." I said.

"Edward, we were getting worried. You didn't come home after you took Bella home." she stated.

"I know I'm sorry." I said. "But the damned dog just broke her heart."

"What?" Esme gasped.

"He imprinted."

"No."

"Yup. She doesn't want to be alone so she's coming over. I was calling to make sure that we didn't have to stop for food."

"We have plenty here."

"Okay."

"Esme, don't hang up!" Alice called in the background. I didn't doubt she heard the entire conversation. "Edward?"

"What Alice?" I sighed.

"Don't come in when you get here. Just drop her off."

"Why?"

"Because you, Jazz, Em, and Carlisle are going hunting. So Esme, Rose, Roxy, Bella, and I can wallow."

"And why can't the boys be there?"

"Because it's a girl thing."

"Fine."

I heard Bella coming down the stairs and simply snapped the phone shut.

"Are you ready?" I asked her when she reached the bottom.

"Yup." she said.

It was a silent car ride. She stared out the window mostly. I heard sniffles every now and then. I wished there was something I could do to make this easier for her. I wanted to just kiss it all away for her, literally. I wanted her to know that I would always love her but it wouldn't be fair to do that now. She was way to vulnerable and I didn't want to take advantadge. There was also Roxy to consider. She was a wonderful person and I had grown fond of her over the past few days. I wanted to give it more of a chance to see where things went.

I took a chance by reaching out and grabbing Bella's hand in mine. I subconciously rubbed soothing circles on the back of it. She looked at me and gave me a sad smile. I expected her to pull her hand away as she looked back out the window. When she didn't I continued rubbing circles on the back of her hand. She let out a sigh after a minute but didn't say anything.

I figured I'd just stick with the big brother role and see how things played out. It was just nice to know that I was still a comfort to her.

**BELLA**

The ride to the Cullens' was silent. I stared out the window thinking about everything. Jake and I had been through a lot over the past year. He was there for me at the worst possible time in my life. He saved me only to shattered me again. I should've known better than to believe more promises after one man already broke my heart.

As I thought about that last bit, I felt Edward cold hand close around mine. He used his thumb to rub circles in the back of my hand. I looked at him and gave him a sad smile. He was the first man and loved and my first heart break. He left me in pieces on the forest floor and broke every promise he'd ever made. But he came back.

He made new promises and was keeping them very well. He was the best big brother Icould ask for. He wasn't trying to take advantadge of my vunerability. Even they way he was holding my hand. It was simply a comforting gesture and didn't mean anything. I turned back to the window but left my hand were it was. I sighed as I thought about what things could be like now.

If I only I had waited a few more months. Edward would've come back to find me just as sad and lost as when her left me. Edward and I would still be together and I wouldn't be in this mess with Jacob.

These thoughts brought on a new wave of hysteria that I forced back. He had Roxanne. Another vampire. Someone who he could kiss and do whatever he wanted with. He didn't have to worry about hurting her. He was happy, as far as I could tell. He deserved it more than anyone. I wouoldn't allow myself to take that from him.

**A/N: I hope you like. Please review. And thank you to all those who already have. I wasn't sure if it would disappoint my regular readers. I'm glad to hear that it didn't.**


	3. Wallowing and Kyle

**A/N: Okay, the first part of this chapter is going to be from Kyle's P.O.V. Don't get used to it though. It will probably be the only one. I just thought it would be a little better if you guys knew a little more about the way his mind works. BTW, he won't actually come what out and admit it but it will be implied in his thoughts. When he was playing Roxanne just to gain her trust, the little bit of human he had left did fall in love with her. That's why he changed her instead of letting her die. He, of course, has no idea she's in Forks right now. His finding out is what sets his plans in motion. And I'm not going to specify where he got each of his powers from but if you recognize it from someone else then you're probably right. **

**KYLE**

I didn't quite understand why I chose Forks, Washington to find my new toy. Yet, here I was following a beautiful brown eyed brunette everywhere. Honestly, the girl herself had absolutely no appeal for me but I saw a challenge in her. I could see that she would be a fighter. I haven't had a fighter in five years. Most of my girls were just laid there and took everything I threw at them.

Roxanne was that last one I had that put up a fight. No matter what I did to her she never gave up. I think that was what I found so appealing about her. She had the strength to take the worst things imaginable and still keep on fighting. I think that's why I couldn't bring myself to kill her so I changed her. I had wanted to ask her to join me but knew how much trouble I'd be in when she woke up. So I took off and haven't seen her since.

This new girl reminded my a lot of Roxanne. The two even looked a little a like. After spending two days watching her, I knew that there was no way she'd buy my usual routine. Even if I found a way to make her vulnerable, she'd know what I was. I had observed her going to school with a vampire and from the things I heard them say, she was good friends with him and his family. She'd know whatb to look for and she'd know I wasn't one of them. Still, I knew I had to have her. How often to you come across a human who was being protected by other vampires? This would be the biggest challenge of my life. But it didn't stop there.

I had also observed that she was dating a werewolf and was good friends with the entire pack. I've never seen a human who fell in so well with the supernatural world. I had to take her if only for the fun of sneaking her out from under the noses of my enemies.

Today was the third day of my watching and following. I learned the vampires that she considered family were the Cullens. I heard much about them. I knew they were an unorthadox vampires who hunted only animals and lived with humans as their equals. Something I found quite ridiculous. We were stronger and more powerful than the humans. We should be using that to our adavantage.

I was waiting outside her house (A/N: He knows how to hide his scent well.) for her vampire, Edward to bring her home. Suddenly, I caught the scent of werewolf and smiled. Her boyfriend, Jacob, had come to meet her. I could see from his aura that he wasn't very happy. I had hoped whatever he was unhappy about would make my job a little more interesting.

I wanted for a half hour watching as he aura switched from red to blue and back again several times. Whatever it was made him as equally angry as it did sad. Finally, Edward and the girl, Bella, I think her name was, pulled into the driveway. They had a whispered conversation and then she got out of the car and headed into the house. I listened as Bella and Jacob fought.

Apparently, the werewolf had imprinted, whatever the hell that was, which meant that the couple had to break up. I could see his aura bouncing from blue to red but I got nothing from his. That was odd but it made me smile. It meant another challenge if my powers didn't work on him.

After about five minutes of yelling, he left and she burst into tears. Edward's car came back around the corner and he ran into the house using his vampire speed. I listened a little more and found out they were going back to his place. Yes, I could finally see what I would be up against.

The drove for around a half hour in complete silence. They occassionally made faces at each other but they were mostly lost in thought. Finally, the reached the house. I crept as close as I dared without alerting any of them. As Bella got out of the car, three men walked out of the house.

One had brown hair and was the size of a bear. The other was tall and lean. He had blonde hair and looked like he was suffering from a terrible headache. The last one was blonde as well. He looked at Bella with eyes full of sympathy as she walked past him. They wouldn't be much of a challenge. I was sure with my arrangement of powers, I could find some way to distract them when it came time to take the girl.

I wouldn't do it just yet though. I'd toy with her for a bit first. I'd make her think that she was being paranoid then take her when she least expected it. This was going to be fun. I was on the verge of planning my first move when I heard a familiar voice.

"I'm so sorry, Bella." the voice said.

It was slight different from the last time I heard it but I recognized it immediately. It was Roxanne's. Why would she come to Forks, Washington of all places? Was she part of this coven now or what? I smiled. Things just got a little more interesting. I'd use the girl to get Roxanne back. I didn't know exactly what I'd do with Roxanne afterward but I'd get her back.

**ALICE (AFTER EDWARD HANG UP)**

"Okay, Em, Jazz, Carlisle, pack some things and get ready for a hunt." I told them.

"But Alice," Emmett whined. "Rosie and I just hunted three nights ago. I don't need anymore right now."

"Then just go watch the others. We need a guy free zone tonight." I argued. Then turned to Esme. "Do we have any Ben and Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream?"

"I don't think so." Esme stated.

"Then can you go get two pints and all the chocolate you can find?" I asked her.

"I don't think we need that much, Alice." Esme stated. "It's only Bella."

"A broken hearted Bella." I replied. "Believe me, she's going to need it."

"Okay." Esme shrugged and grabbed the keys.

"Rose, I need you to go through our DVD collection and pull out the sappiest love movies you can. And Roxy, I need you to order Bella a large pizza with everything on it." I ordered.

They both understood what I was thinking and did what I said. The boys however, were still standing in front of me looking confused. I sighed.

"Let's go!" I said. "You guys need to be ready to leave when Edward gets here."

"Al, honey." said Jasper coming up and touching my shoulder. "We'd be more than happy to do what you asked after you explain why."

I sighed and shook my head. Men didn't know anything about the post break up process. I supposed I'd have to explain or I wouldn't get them to move.

"Okay, Bella and Jacob just broke up and there are certain steps a girl must go through to get over it. Step one is what is called wallowing. That's when the girl and her girlfriends get together and eat junking food, while they watch sappy romance movies and feel sorry for her." I explained.

"I will never understand women." Emmett stated.

"For somoene who doesn't remember much about being a human, you sure know a lot about these things." Jasper said.

"Well, it comes from spending a century watching people." I replied. "Now, go before they get here."

All three took off to pack things. The girls fufilled their duties expertly.

"Pizza will be here in thirty minutes." Roxy stated as I walked back into the living room.

Rosalie had a stack of DVD's lying in front of the T.V. Their titles ranged from _Gone With the Wind _to _Tristan and Isolde. _I gave her the thumbs up as I sat on the couch. Esme made it back before Bella arrived. She had done well. She bought a whole quart of Ben and Jerry's along with an x-large bag of M&M's and some other assorted chocolate.

"Are you sure Bella's going to eat all this?" she asked me as we laid it out in the living room.

"Maybe not all of it but most of it." I relplied.

I heard Edward pull up in the volvo a minute later.

"Let's go boys!" I yelled up the stairs.

All three of them dashed down stairs. Rosalie, knowing how important this was, limited her goodbye to Emmett. As did the rest of us. Roxanne didn't even go outside to see Edward. But I think that had to do with not wanting to hurt Bella's feelings more.

The boys were out the door before Bella was out of the car.

**BELLA**

I climbed out of the car and noticed Emmett, Jasper, and Carlisle heading towards it. I wondered where they were going as Carlisle gave me a sympathetic smile. Then I realized Alice probably thought I didn't want to be around men right now. I was grateful for that. When I entered the house, I was surprised to find myself in Roxanne's embrace.

"I'm so sorry, Bella." she whispered.

"Thanks." I said.

She pulled me into the living room where Esme, Rose and Alice were waiting. There were DVD's stacked up in front of the T.V. and food on the table. I wasn't sure what was going on but I figured Alice was behind it. I gave her a look that said what's going on. She stood up, pulled me into a hug and said,

"We're going to spend the night wallowing."

This shocked me. I didn't think she remembered enough about being human to even think of this. It made me smile just slightly because it's exactly what I needed.

"Alice, do you even know what wallow means?" I asked.

I just couln't imagine her as the type. She was just too happy all the time to want to do this.

"Yes, I know what it means." she sounded slightly offended. "I know how to take care of my best friend, thank you very much. Now, go pick a movie. Your pizza will be here shortly."

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By the time I fell asleep, we had watched all of _Gone With the Wind, Pride and Prejudice, _and half of _Casablanca. _I had eaten a whole large pizza, a quart of Ben and Jerry's and half an extra large bag of M&M's. It wasn't much different from what I would've done if I stayed home but It was nice that I didn't have to do it alone. I ended up falling asleep with my head in Alice's lap.

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_I was laying on the couch with my head in Alice's lap and we were watching Casablanca. The next thing I knew, I was plunged into total darkness. I could no longer feel the Alice's legs under my head. No could I hear the others unnecessary breathing._

"Alice." I called but I didn't get a response. "Roxy! Rose! Esme!" 

_No response from any of them. I didn't move from the couch because I wasn't sure if I was even still in the Cullens' house. I didn't want to get lost in the dark. I pulled my knees up to my chests and began rocking back a forth. Suddenly, I heard a man's laugh._

I turned to see a man with red eyes sitting directly behind me. My eyes were adjusted enough to see that he had brown hair. He was very muscular with a draker complexion. He had a twisted evil smile on his face. 

_"Who are you?" I asked my voice shaking. I slid to the other side of the couch away from him. _

_"I think you know." he said in a music like voice. _

_"Kyle." I managed to choke out. _

_"Very good, Isabella." he whispered. _

_"How do you know my name?" I asked. _

_"I've been watching you." he replied and slid closer to me. _

_I tried to back up further but I hit the arm rest. His smile grew wider. _

_"You can't escape me. No matter how hard you try." He was now right next to me. "And your friends won't be able to protect you." _

_He ran his hand down the length of my body and stopped at my hip. I felt a strong electric shock run through my whole body. I started screaming. _

My eyes snapped open. I found myself back in the fully lit living room staring into the eyes of four very concerned looking vampires.

**A/N: I lied. Here's your update. I hope you enjoyed. So was it just a dream or what? Tell me what you think. **


	4. What Do We Do?

**A/N: I need to let you guys know a few things before I write this chapter. The first being, Bella tells the others that it was Kyle she saw in the dream. However, none of them can be positive that it was him. Bella won't be able to remember enough about the man in the dream to give an accurate description. Also, Roxanne knows that Kyle has many powers but she doesn't know how he gets them. With that being said, I hope you guys don't get too lost in this chapter. **

**ROXANNE**

I listened to Bella tell us what happened in her dream. I wasn't sure if it was something we should be worried about or not. I knew my story had probably just made her paranoid. All the same there were a few things that didn't quite add up.

The first being that she said he sent an electric shock through her body by simply touching her. That was something he had done to me quite often especially when he was raping me. He used to say the way I tightened up when he did it felt so good. I wanted to throw up just thinking about it. Still, I hadn't gone into that much detail about my captivity with any of the Cullens or Bella yet. How could Bella's subconcious have known?

Then the was also the fact that she could only remember that the man in her dream said he was Kyle. She couldn't remember what he looked like or anything. I knew he could enter someone's mind when they were in a subconcious state and manipulate their dreams. He could torture you in your sleep then make you forget certain parts or make other part stand out more.

Bella said that Kyle had told her that he was coming for her and she wouldn't be able to escape him. He had said that we wouldn't even beable to protect her. I didn't know what I should do. I wanted to comfort Bella and let her know nothing would happen to her but if Kyle was after her then he'd get her. He didn't stop until he got what he wanted.

Hell, I couldn't even be sure if he was after her. Maybe, it was Bella just being human and worrying about nothing.

I guess the question was: Should I alert the others that this could potentially be a serious thing or not? As of right now, because nobody knew what I knew, none of them believed there was really a threat. They just thought it was a dream. They had no idea that it could've really been a threat. I knew but I didn't want to alert anybody until I knew whether or not it was a serious thing. None of them needed that kind of stress right now. Especially Bella.

She just lost her boyfriend. I wasn't about to tell her that she could have another sadistic vampire coming after her. At least, not until I was positive he was after her.

"It's okay, Bella." I said. "Nobody's going to hurt you. It was just a dream.

I stroked her hair while she cried in Alice's arms.

"But you don't understand. It felt so real." she sobbed.

"It was probably just all the food, sweetie. And your emotions are already all over the place." I tried to comfort her.

"Maybe, we should call the boys home?" Rosalie suggested. "Just to be on the safe side."

"I like that idea." Esme replied. "I know it's probably not anything to worry about but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared for anything."

Alice passed Bella to Rosalie's arms and pulled out her cell. She dialed fast but I caught every number she punched in. I heard the ringback about four times before Jasper's voicemail picked up.

"Hey Jazz, it's Al. Listen, when you guys get this, can you get back here A.S.A.P. Don't worry nobody's hurt or in danger. We'll explaine when you get here. I love you. Bye." she said before snapping the phone shut.

Eventually, Bella calmed down and fell back to sleep in Rose's arms. We halted the Kyle talk while she was awake. We didn't want to worry her about a potnetial threat we were even sure was a potential threat just yet. The others didn't seem too worried about it. They just wanted to take precautions. I wasn't against that but I wasn't going to make them think it was a serious thing until I was positive that it was.

"I think we should talk with the pack and ask them to keep a nose out for strangers." Alice stated.

"Of course." Esme replied. "But are you sure that's something Bella would be okay with. I mean, Jake did just break her heart."

"Maybe not but they would want to know." Rose stated. "They care about her as much as we do. And the imprint doesn't change the fact that Jacob loves Bella. That's something that'll probably never change. Her safety and happiness are just as important to him as the other girls."

"And how do you know so much about his emotions, Rose?" I asked.

I was curious because she was the only one who had a hard time getting along with the pack. The few weeks I spent observing their interactions, I notcied she always hung out by herself whenever Bella was with both families. She never seemed like she wanted to intermingle much.

"You notice a lot when you're just observing. You should know that Roxy." she stated. "I could see the look in his eyes whenever he was around her. It was the same look Edward had before we left. The look of pure love and adoration. I knew it would've taken something strong to rip them apart."

"We're getting off the subject." Esme stated. "Do we tell the pack or not?"

"I think we should wait for the boys to decide anything." I stated. "Carlisle may have better insight than the rest of us."

"She's right." Alice stated. "They be here in about a half hour."

Alice grabbed her phone out of her pocket and flipped it open before it had a chance to even ring.

"Hey Jasper." she said.

"What's going on?" Jasper asked.

"We'll explain when you get here." Alice answered. "Don't worry nothing's happened."

"Okay, we'll be there in..."

"A half hour." Alice cut him off.

He laughed and they hang up.

**EDWARD**

When we arrived at the house. I heard four sets of confused thoughts. Nobody seemed to know whether or not they should worry. I ran in the house with my brothers and Carlisle next to me. We found Roxy, Rose, Alice, and Esme waiting in the dining room. Bella was know where to be seen. This worried me until a heard the rythmic breathing coming from her room.

Jasper went to Alice side and sat next to her. Carlisle stood behind Esme where she was sitting at the head table. Emmett went to Rosalie who was pacing between the dining room and the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Relax, babe." he whispered. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

I looked over at Roxanne who was sitting across from Alice. She had her hands folded on the table and was twindling her thumbs. She was concentrating hard on the table. I focused on her thoughts and found that she was fighting with herself about telling us something. I sighed pulled out the chair next to her and sat down. I reached over and took one of her hands and gave her a smile when she looked up. I'd talk to her later about her thoughts but, from the looks of things, we had other serious matters to discuss.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Alice explained that Bella had a dream about Kyle. In the dream, Kyle told her that she couldn't get away from him and we couldn't protect. Then he sent an electric shock through her body and then she woke up. She said that Bella could only remember what the man said and did but not what he looked like.

"She said it felt so real. It tooks us nearly a half hour to calm her down." Alice finished.

"Yeah and we're nopt sure if we should take it seriously or just pass it off as Bella's subconcious being paranoid." Rosalie added. "So we don't know how to handle this."

Carlisle was saying something but thoughts were focusing on Roxanne.

_"Should I tell them? On one hand, it could potentially save Bella from my fat. On the other, it could cause worry where it isn't necessary. This could be nothing. What she said Kyle doing to her in the dream could've just been a coincedence." _

"Roxy," I said cutting Carlisle off. "If you know something then you should tell us. Bella is very important to us and we wanna make sure that she's always safe. We don't mind the unnecessary worry if it could potentially help Bella."

"I know. It's just, I don't even know if it's what I think it could be." she stated. "It could all be just a coincedence.I don't want us to jumnp to conclusions."

"But," I said. "Didn't Kyle use your ignorance and vulnerability to get what he wanted from you?"

She just nodded and went back to staring at her hands.

_"You've got a point. I don't want that to happen to Bella." _she thought._ "But I don't want to scare her any more than she already is." _

"I know ." I told her.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her to me.

"But she'll appreciated it all the more later." I finished. "Bella's tough. She's lived through one sadistic vampire attack. She knows that will do everything in our power to keep her safe. She's never doubted our ability to do that."

Roxy took an unnecesary deep breath. I heard her thoughts jumbling around trying to put themselves in order.

"With all the time I've spent with Kyle, I don't know much about him." she told the family at large. "I know that he has many powers at his disposal but I don't know how he gats them or how many more he's aquired in the last five years. He used many of his powers on me in those six months."

Her voice shook just a little and I tightened my grip on her shoulder. Her thoughts were telling me she was going to leave out details and I nodded.

"One was the electric shock touch." she stated. "He could send jolts of electricity through somone's body just by touching their bare skin. I think that's what he did to Bella in her dream. Another was the ability to step into someone else subconcious. He would torture me in my sleep every night. He said it was his favorite way to pass the nighttime."

"I'm not quite sure I understand." Carlisle stated with his brow furrowed. I could hear his though trying to work it out but he couldn't.

"To put it simply, he could get inside someone's head when they're sleeping or unconcious and manipulate their dreams. For example, he liked to replay the night he killed my family over and over in my dreams." she explained. Her voice cracked and I kissed the top of her head. She was clinging to my hand that was still on the table. "He could even go as far as to make some details fainter the others. Make you forget certain things from your dreams altogether."

"Do you think that he used this power on her, tonight?" Carlisle asked.

"I don't know." Roxanne replied. "He could've, it does sound like it, but then again it could also be Bella's subconcious playing tricks on her. That also presents the problem of being exactly what Kyle would want us to think."

"So the question is, what do we do?" Jasper stated. "Do we treat it like a threat or do we let it go?"

"I think we should consider the option of Kyle being the one to manipulate her. We'll keep our eyes open and take precautions. The first being, I don't want her going anywhere alone." Carlisle stated. "And I want her to stay here until we're sure there isn't a threat."

I agreed with him on that. I heard the others agreeing as well.

"Also, I want one of you to go to school with her everyday and watch things on campus. Make sure no one's paying extra special attention to Bella. If someone is, take a good look so you can describe him to Roxanne later." He continued.

"Should we inform the pack?" Alice questioned.

"It wouldn't hurt." Carlisle answered. "That way they can be on the look out too. Then they won't be surprised when they cross his scent. We can to that at Sunday's meeting."

I didn't know we were meeting the pack on Sunday. The confused thoughts emminating from my family told me that none of them knew it either. Carlisle mutst have gotten the hint because he said,

"I'm sorry. I was waiting until Edward got home from dropping Bella off to tell you guys. But Edward didn't come home then he called about the break up and I forgot. Sam met with the tribes elders to discuss Roxanne and the treaty. They decided that they wanted to renew it in a sense. They want to revise some thigns I guess and put in a truce claus. That kind of things. We are all going to have to resign it. Sam says they should be done by Sunday."

Everyone nodded. Their thoughts were pretty pleasant. That was the only good thing that came out of this whole deal, the animosity between us and the pack didn't seem to exist anymore. I looked up and noticed Rosalie's expression. It was sort of a grimace. At first I thought it was because of the thought of having to be around the wolves. She may not hate them anymore but she still didn't like them. However, her thoughts were on Bella.

_"Should we tell Bella about this?" _She thought as she stared pointedly at me.

"As much as I would like for her not to find out, I know she will eventually so we may as well be honest with her know. She would be less likely to bite one of our heads of if we tell her now." I answered the thought.

The others seemed to have a pretty good idea what I was talking about because nobody ask any questions. Carlisle declared the meeting over and everyone went in the own directions.

"Will you go for a run with me?" Roxanne asked. _"I need to do some thinking." _she thought. _"I find it a lot more easier when your around." _

"Of course." I said.

We took off out the back door. My hand in hers. We ran until we reached a clearing. We sat down and Roxanne spent the rest of the night telling me more about what Kyle did to her. It broke my heart to hear that any creature could heart somone like Roxanne. She was so beautiful and kind. She had only known us for less the seventy-two hours and she was doing everything in her power to help us protect Bella.

I swore to myself as I listened to her stories that I'd kill Kyle if I ever met him. He couldn't get away with hurting angels like Bella, Roxanne or any other poor girls his had over the centuries. I would make sure he paid for all of their suffering.

**A/N: I hope you liked this one. It was another one where I just sat down and let my fingers drift over the keyboard. Please review!!!!!!!!!**


	5. Heart to Hearts

**A/N: I want to let everyone know that Bella's mental block does not work against Kyle's powers. Think of it like this, his gift is strong enough to counteract hers. That won't be important until later but I thought I would let you know. **

**BELLA**

I cried myself into a restless sleep. I had a couple more nightmares but none were as vivid as the one about Kyle.

I woke up in my bed, in my room at the Cullens' house. Esme had added it after Charlie died for those nights when Jacob couldn't stay and I got lonely. She knew it would be awkward if I shared a room with Edward. I stretched then the smell of pancakes and bacon caught my nose. As much as I loved Alice, it was still kind of creepy to think she knew things like what I would want for breakfast before I knew it. I climbed out of bed and headed downstairs.

When I reached the kitchen, Esme was standing over the stove finishing the bacon. The was a stake of pancakes on a plate next to the microwave.

"Morning Bella." she said without turning around.

"Morning." I said. "You didn't have to do this. I could've just grabbed a pop tart."

"I know sweetie but I miss cooking for people who are actually able to eat it." she replied.

"Thank you." I said. I could feel the blood rush to my face.

She put four slices of bacon on the plate of pancakes and laid it on the table. I sat down at the dining room table and started eating. Esme sat down in the chair next to me. I had just began to notice how quiet it was. I didn't think the words quiet and Cullens could be used in the same sentence. Unless, of course, the sentence was; The Cullen house was never quiet.

"Where's everyone?" I asked.

"The hospital called and ask if Carlisle could cover a shift and he, of course, said yes." Esme replied. "Alice and Jasper wanted to be alone for awhile so they went for a drive. Rose needed some parts for her baby so Emmett drove her to Seattle and Edward and Roxanne went for a run last night but they haven't come back yet." (A/N: Bella was still awake when they called and told the guys to come home.)

"Oh.' I said.

I felt a slight pang of jealousy with that last part. I was happy for them but a small part of me wished I could have him back. I suddenly wasn't hungry anymore but I didn't want to let Esme hard work go to waste. I pushed it around my plate taking small bites every few minutes.

"Are you alright, honey?" Esme asked after a few minutes.

"I'm fine." I replied plastering on my best fake smile.

"Of course you're not fine." Esme replied. "You've just had your heart broken."

I shrugged.

"It's not like it hasn't happened before." I mumbled forgetting that she could still hear me.

"He was only trying to do what was best for you dear." Esme responded.

"I know, I'm sorry." I said. "I guess, I'm still a little hurt."

"I know sweetie. And it's okay to be mad at him. But you have to understand his side of things. He's always thought of himself as a danger to you and your birthday didn't help. He was just trying to protect you the best way he knew how."

"I know but I wish he would've just talked to me about it. We could've worked something out."

"He knew that you would convince him to stay. You know, he would've gone to the ends of the earth if you asked him to." she laughed lightly. "He didn't want to give you the chance to talk him into staying. Your safety was the most important thing to him and it still is. He worries about you so much."

"I know." I replied concentrating on my plate.

I finished my breakfast in silence then helped Esme clean up. When she refused to let me help anymore, I went upstairs to work on a paper I had due for Composition. I was working for a couple hours when they was a knock on my door.

"Come in!" I called.

The door opened and I turned to see Edward walking in. He shut it and sat on the edge of my bed.

"Can we talk for a minute?" he asked.

"Sure, what's up?" I answered and went to sit next to him on the bed.

"What happened last night has us all confused." he stated. "We're not sure if we should take this seriously or just chalk it up to your tendency to worry too much. On the one hand, we know your emotions were all over the place since yesterday and you did eat a lot before you fell asleep. It is possible that it was just a dream. However, Roxanne told us somethings about Kyle's powers that have us wondering."

I was a little stunned that they found substance in this. I myself woke up thinking it was just stupid human paranoia. I nodded for him to continue.

"Kyle has somehow aquired many gifts in his three hundred years. Roxanne doesn't know how he does it. There were two the she remembered last night that could be relevant." he continued. "The first being he can shock you just by touching your bare skin. Roxy said that's why you woke up last night, right?"

"Yes." I answered.

"The other is he could step into someone else subconcious. He could manipulate a persons dreams. He could torture them by replaying something particuliarly painful or make you forget certain parts of your dreams. Even make some more vivid than others."

"But if I can block mental powers then that one shouldn't have any effect on my,should it?" I questioned confused.

"I don't know. It's possible that he could've found a way around it with all the girts he has gained."

"So what are we going to do."

"We are going to take some precautions. You are going to stay here until we're sure he's not a threat to you. Carlisle also wants someone to go to Port Angeles with us and keep an eye on the campus. Just to make sure that no one is acting suspicious. And we don't want you to be anywhere alone."

"I can live with that." I said.

"Also, we want to inform the pack of the potential threat so they can be on their guard too."

"Okay." I said.

"The thing about that one is, all of us have to meet with them tomorrow." he said. "The elders have decided to revise the treaty or something like that. We all have to go and resign it with Roxanne. And seing as you can't be left alone, I'm afraid you'll have to come."

I didn't think I was ready for that yet. I knew I didn't have a choice though because none of the family would agree to leave me alone. Especially not under the circumstances. Then again, it was something that I'd have to do sooner or later. Why not sooner?

"I understand." I said.

"Are you going to be okay with that?" he asked.

"No but I need to get used to seeing him as just a friend again. I mean, I'm going to still be spending time with my family in La Push so I have to get used to it." He looked at me and I saw a strange sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry and pulled you into this world." he said.

Woah! Where'd that come from? Why was he sorry? I sure as hell wasn't. Yes there was a lot of bad that came out of this but there was a lot of good too.

"Why? I'm not." I said to him.

"But it has brought you nothing but pain." he said. "If I would've just left you alone, you'd be happy right now."

I shook my head.

"Edward, listen to me. I don't regret any of the choices I've made involving any of this. I could've walked away so many times in the last year but I didn't. I love it where I am." I explained. "I have two wonderful families that love and take care of me. I don't know how I would've gotten over Charlie's death without the help of my supernatural friends. I hate to think of where I'd be without you guys. Yes, I've had my heart broken a couple times but that's a human thing. It would've been the same if I dated Mike Newton or Eric Yorkie. The good of having you guys in my life outwieghs the bad. Please don't ever regret any of this. Because I never will."

He smiled and pushed a lock of my hair behind my ear.

"Isabella Swan, you are the strongest most beautiful human I've ever met." Edward said. "I will never regret any of this either."

"Good." I replied blushing and deep crimson.

He suddenly started smirking.

"What?" I asked.

"Alice and Jasper are home. Alice wants to give you a makeover." he replied.

"No!" I stated. "Please don't let her."

He laughed.

"I'll go tell her you're doing homework." he told me.

"Thank you."

He kissed the top of my head and walked out the door with a smile on his face. I sighed, silently, missing the feel of his lips on mine.

**A/N: I know boring again. I'm sorry. This one was going to longer with a little bit of excitment but it's getting late and I have to work early tomorrow so next chapter will be excting, I promise. I hope you guys liked this one!!! Please review!!!!!! **


	6. Confessions of a Broken Heart

**A/N: Okay things are about to get interesting and little more heartbreaking. Enjoy!!!!!!!**

**BELLA**

On Sunday morning, Alice insisted on getting me ready for the meeting. She said she wanted to show Jacob what he was giving up. I beg her not to, telling her that this whole thing was hurting him as much as it was me. She wouldn't hear it, though and with the help of Roxy and Rose, I was forced to endure three hours of torture.

By the time they were finished, I was dressed in a pair of tight dark blue jeans that were a little faded with a navy blue tank top (I couldn't believe Alice put me in Edward's fovorite color to make Jake even more jealous.) with a black sweater over top of it. She gave me a pair of black ballet flats to wear becuase she knew I wouldn't be able to walk in heels. I had on the standard make up with the Alice flair and a hint of blue eye shadow. The girls had pulled my some of my hair back into a butterfly clip and curled the ends.

We had to leave almost as soon as I was ready. That's how long they took in getting me ready. Edward ran to the meeting spot with me on his back. Like always, I closed my eyes and buried my face in his shoulder blade. When he stopped and put me down, I wobbled slightly but did not fall. He kept his hand on the small of my back until I steadied myself.

I didn't look at the pack that was lined up a few feet from us. Instead, I occupied myself with counting the blades of grass at my feet. I tuned out what Carlisle and sam were discussing. None of it really applied to me. I was just here because it wasn't safe for me to be alone. At some point, Edward had grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently. He knew how hard this was for me and I was glad for that.

"Bella?" Carlisle said startling me out of my thoughts. I looked up at him and blinked.

"Yes." I said.

"Sam would like to talk to you." he replied.

"Okay." I said and walked towards Sam.

He stared at me for a mkinute. I could tell whatever it was that he was going to say was going to be hard for him. I put my hand on his shoulder as a comforting gesture but he gently pushed it away. I felt my stomach drop. Somehow, in that one little gesture, I realized that I was about to lose one of my families.

"The elders ask that you sign the treaty as well, Bella." he said. I could hear the sadness in his tone.

I didn't understand. Why should I have to sign the treaty? It wasn't like I was a vampire or anything. What reason would they have for me not wanting to me in La Push.

"Why?" I asked. My voice shook as I swallowed the lump.

"They think that it's best for all involved if you don't come to La Push anymore." Sam explained.

"No." I shook my head trying to fight the tears. "That's not fair. Why should I have to lose half my family over this?"

"Bella, this is as hard for us as it is for you but we have to think about what's best for the pack." Sam stated his voice shaking just slightly. "If Jacob is conflicted about you and Alyssa then that effects all of us. It would be a distraction and someone could get hurt. I know you don't want that."

I knew what he was saying made sense. Of course, I didn't want any of them to be hurt but they were my brothers. How did he expect me to just walk away? I didn't think I had the strength to lose anyone else let alone five more of them. I couldn't handle it. Hadn't I already lost enough?

"But...but..but.." I managed to choke out.

"Bella, please." Sam pleaded. "I know how hard this must be. To have someone you love ripped away from you by something you can't control. God knows, I wouldn't have left Leah if I could've avoided it. You have no idea how hard it is to have to see her on a regular basis and know how much I hurt her. I don't want to see Jake go through that. And I don't want to see you go through that either. Please, just sign it."

I couldn't hold in the tears anymore. I felt Carlisle place a hand on my shoulder and squeeze it gently. I finally gained the courage to look at my friends. They had varying degrees of pain on their faces. I could tell that all of them had been crying. Jacob's was the last one I saw. He seemed torn between sadness at having to ask me to do this and relief that he wouldn't be hurting me anymore.

I could tell from their faces that they wouldn't do this if they didn't think it was best. I took a minute to think about the story of Leah, Sam, and Emily. I had never really had any contact with Leah in La Push but when I did see her, she always looked so sad. I knew that must be torture for her to walk back the man you love everyday and know he belonged to someone else. I also knew how much it hurt Sam to know he was the one who broke her. Did I really want Jake and I to end up like that? Of course I didn't. I wanted him to be happy even if his happiness meant my losing my family.

"I'll sign it." I stated my voice cracking.

"Thank you." Sam replied.

"Before we sign, my family and I wanted to inform you that there may be a vampire in or around Forks. We have reason to believe that he may be a threat to Bella's safety." Carlisle explained.

"We have not picked up anything new since Roxanne." Sam stated.

"I've had experience with him." Roxanne stated in a small voice. "He is very good at not being found when he doesn't want to be."

"And what kind of experience do you have with him exactly?" Sam questioned.

Roxanne looked uncomfortable. It seemed like she wasn't ready to tell the pack her whole story, yet. Edward, of course, came to the rescue.

"The kind of experience that makes her a realiable source for this particuliar vampire." he said as if that settled the mattered.

Sam didn't reply. Instead, he held out the treaty that already had all of the elders names on it and a pen. All of the Cullens signed it before I did. I had to gather enough courage to actually sign it. When it finally came my turn, I took the pen in my shaking hand and signed my name. I couldn't hold the tears in, they dripped on the paper. Edward and Roxanne were standing on either side of me the whole time. When I finished signing, I turned to Edward and broke down. He made shushing noises and rubbed circles in my back. Roxanne was stroking my hair telling me it would be okay.

There was silence for a few minutes then Sam called my name. I turned to look at him.

"I'm sorry." he said. "I wish there was an easier way."

I nodded and went back to cry into Edward's chest. The rustle of the leaves on the ground told me that the pack had departed. I heard Edward whisper something to the family and they were gone too. My knees buckled underneath me as the weight of everything that had happened over the past year finally came crashing down. Edward pulled me gently to the ground. He sat and rocked me.

I thought of everything I lost. Edward, Jacob, my father, the pack. Who was next? Alice, Jasper, Emmett? I couldn't lose anymore but I had a funny feeling something bigger was coming. I pulled myself from his chest.

"Am I meant to spend the rest of my life alone?" I asked.

"What are you talking about?" he said.

"I mean, I'm losing everyone I love. Jacob, the pack, Charlie. And it's only a matter of time before I lose you guys too." I explained. "You can't stay in Forks forever."

"Do you honestly think that we're going to leave you here by yourself?" Edward said. "Wherever we go, you're going from now until the day you die. You have them and you have me, always."

"I won't ever have all of you." I whispered. I didn't know why possesed me to say it but I couldn't take it back now.

"What's that's supposed to mean?" He asked.

"You have Roxanne now. So she'll always be top on your priority list."

"I think you have the wrong idea about Roxanne and I."

"What do you mean I've got the wrong idea? You hold hands, you kiss, and you go out into the woods and talk all night. What idea am I supposed to get?"

"Bella, when I left you, there was a whole in my cold dead heart." he stated. "Then when I came back and found yu with Jacob, it only got bigger. I spent four months watching you get closer and closer to him and the whole just got bigger and bigger. I was so lonely without you. Then I met Roxy and I thought that she was someone I could spend enternity with."

"I'm still not seeing how I got the wrong idea." I stated.

I knew he had a hard time getting over me. I also knew what he was thinking when he met her. The recap was only hurting me more.

"But I don't love her." He finished. I was astonished. "I'm content with her. I could see myself just settling with her. She knows I feel this way and she knows I'll never love her the way I love you. I have never stopped loving you, Bella. She knows that and she doesn't love me either. We're both just really lonely creatures and we find that we help each other stifle the lonliness. She wouldn't blame me if I chose you over her. She just wants me to be happy."

I heard what he was saying but it took me a minute to process it all. He still loved me. That shocked me. What shocked me even more though, was realizing that deep down, I still loved him too. I wanted things to work with Jacob because I didn't want to give Edward the chance to hurt me again. So I convinced myself that I was fine without Edward. The truth was I did love him.

I didn't know what to say so I just let my instincts take over. I leaned up and kissed him with more passion than I ever had before. He kissed me back for a couple seconds before pusshing me away.

"No, Bella." he said. "As much as I want you to do that. I don't want you to make this decision right now. You have just had your heartbroken and half your family takne away from you. I don't want you to make a decision you could rgret simply out of a desperation to feel loved. I want you to take some time and make sure your head is completely clear before you decide."

I nodded. I knew he was right. However, I knew what I wanted too. I'd take some time, though, just to make sure this is what I felt. He was always so smart when it came to my emotions. I knew, though, that with my level of emotional exhaustion that I wouldn't get anywhere until I got some sleep.

"Take me home." I said. "I think I need a nap."

"Okay." he chuckled.

He picked me up bridal style and ran me back to the house. I closed my eyes and buried my face in his chest. He didn't stop running until he laid me on my bed. (Less than five minutes later.) He pushed a piece of hair that had fallen out of the clip behind my ear.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" he asked.

"No." I replied. "I think I need to be away from you to keep my head clear."

"Right." he said. "I'll be around if you need me."

He pressed his cold lips to mine for less than a second before heading out of the room. I took off my shoes and crawled under the covers. I fell asleep thinking happy thoughts and not caring that I was still fully clothed.

**A/N: I hope you liked it. I'm sorry for the cheesy chapter title but I couldn't think of anything else. Also, I hope I didn't make it seem like Edward was cheating. I didn't want that but I needed a way to tell Bella that Edward doesn't love Roxanne. Also, I don't know the ritual behind the treaty signing just go with what we have. And finally, I agree with Sam. Keeping Bella away from La Push is the best to avoid an Leah, Sam, Emily thing. Anyway that's it. Please review. I probably won't be able to give you anymore until Saturday with the holiday and everything. Happy Nondenominational Holiday Seaon to everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And a Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it. **


	7. Confessions and Confusion

**A/N: I'm back and so excited to be. Unfortunately, it is not with my laptop yet but this is better than nothing. I won't bore you guys with a recap or anything. I think you'd like it better if I just jumped right in. Like I said in my last note, I've been writing down my chapters so I don't forget anything. So this is going to pick up right after Edward leaves Bella in her room. **

**EDWARD**

I walked out of Bella's room, my head swimming with thoughts. I could not believe that I'd finally got the courage to tell her that I still loved her. What was even more surprising to me was that some part of her still loved me too. I wasn't sure how strong that part was. Nor did I know whether or not that part was born of desperation and lonliness.

Thought the knowledge and the kiss we just shared made me happier than I 'd been since Bella's eighteenth birthday, I knew I'd have to wait. I wasn't going to take adbantage of her emotional state. She was still hirting from losing Jacob and the pack. For all I knew, that kiss could've been something borne of the pain and sadness that she was feeling over them. If she still did love me as much as I loed her, I wanted her to be absoulutely sure it was what she really wanted. I knew niether of us could bear another heart break. I didn't even think she could survive another one.

Having this new knowledge, I knew, whether or not Bella wanted me, I was being extremely unfair to Roxanne. Regardless of whatever silent agreement we had about our relationship, I couldn't keep stringing her along. It wasn't fair to her for me to tie her down when I was in love with someone else. Our relationship was one borne of desperation and loneliness. Two things the would, hopefully, soon bno longer be an issue for me.

Bella was my happiness. She was the reason I still existed. It wasn't fair to me to bring in a replacement. Nor was it fair to the replacement, Roxanne. I had to tell her that Bella was the only person for me. I had to give her the chance to find someone who made her as happy as Bella made me.

I hoped I wouldn't hurt her too much. I knew she thought of the whole thing the same way I did. I also knew how attached she was to me. I had to let her know that I couldn't be that way with her anymore but I'd always be there for her. I just hoped she'd understand.

I knew the sooner I told her, the better it would be for the both of us. Which is why I went directly to the living room. I knew she was down there playing chess with Jasper while Alice watched.

When I got down there, Alice was bouncing up and down and clapping. Apparently, Jasper had beaten Roxanne in the closest match the Cullen family had ever had. Which was exactly the way Alice saw it. Roxanne was demanding a rematch. Alice looked up when she heard me coming down the stairs.

_"Don't worry, Edward." _she thought. _"She's going to be just fine." _

I nodded my thanks and she smiled in reply.

"Roxy, can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked.

"Sure." she replied.

Her thoughts told me that she knew what was coming. I couldn't quite gauge her emotions from her thoughts.

"Why don't we go to my room?" I suggested.

Roxanne nodded and we headed back up stairs. When we reached my room, I sat down on my couch. She sat down next to me and stared at her knees. I put a comforting hand on hers and tried to ignore her thoughts.

"Roxy, I..." I started.

"Edward, don't." she cut me off. "It's okay. I know how you feel about her. I felt the same way about Kyle. And as crazy as it sounds, I still feel the same way about him. I know what you and I had could never really work. Trying to replace someone you love with someone you like doesn't work. Especially when the one you love loves you back."

It took a minute for the last bit to sink in. I had been trying to match what she was saying with her thoughts. I wanted to make sure that she was really okay with this. The part about Bella still loving me, caught me off guard. How could Roxanne be so sure? The only indication of Bella's feelings for me in the last four months had been the kiss. However, that was something only Bella, myself, and maybe Alice knew about.

"How can you be sure?" I asked a couple seconds later.

"She hides her feelings well. Even from Jasper. But I observed a lot in my first few weeks here. In her head, she was convinced that she was in love with Jacob but her heart belongs to you. I could see it when she looked at you. And hear it in settle comments she occasionally makes. She was fighting it and was close to winning until Jacob broke her heart. Now she has no excuse to deny her feelings for you." Roxanne explained.

I had forgotten how complicated the human mind could be. I figured a normal human would probably explode if the had to think about all that. On the other hand, for Bella, it was probab;y a defense mechanism. I hurt her once and she didn't want to give me the chance to do it again. Some part of her knew, though, despite her fear, she could never stop loving me. That was a part only Roxanne understood enough to see.

Before I could ponder this any further, Bella's screams rang out through the house.

"Please, stop! Leave them alone! No! Edward!"

Roxanne and I were at her side within seconds. The rest of the family was there as well. Bella was thrashing on the bed, crying.

"No, Jacob!" she cried. "They didn't do anything!"

"Bella, wake up!" I said shaking her shoulder. "It's okay. I'm here. He can't hurt you if you wake up."

"No! Please, not here!" she yelled and began to thrash even more. "Let me out! Let me go!"

I looked to Roxanne.

"Why won't she wake up?" I cried desperately.

"I don't know!" Roxanne replied just as upset. "I could usually pull myself out when I've had enough. She should be the same."

"No! Mom! Please, leave her alone!" Bella cried again.

She was thrashing so violently that she was going to hurt herself. I tried to pin her done but she struggled against me.

"Edward, go get my bag." Carlisle ordered. "I have to sedate her before she hurts herself."

I was halfway out the door when Roxanne grabbed my arm.

"You can't!" she said urgently to Carlisle. "That'll push her deeper into unconciousness. The deeper under a person is the easier it is for Kyle to hold them there."

"So what do we do?" I asked frantically.

"Talk to her. Remind that it's just a dream and she can wake up whenever she wants." Roxanne answered.

I sat down on the bed next to Bella and stroked her hair.

"Bella, it's Edward. Honey, you have to calm down and wake up. It's onaly a dream. The family's fine. The pack's fine. Renee's fine. We can call and check on everyone. But first you have to wake up. Please, baby, just wake up." I pleaded. "I won't let him hurt you."

It went on for a few more minutes. I begged, promised, and, once again, confessed my love to her. She eventually relaxed and her eyes fluttered open.


	8. All I Need

**A/N: To avoid any confusion, this chapter is what Bella is dreaming about in the last chapter. And from now on, when I saw the Cullens that includes Roxanne. **

**BELLA **

_Edward and I were sitting in our meadow. he had his legs spread aprt with me sitting between them. He had his arms wrapped around me and I was leaning against his chest. We were basking in the sunlight and each other's love. Neither of us said a word but he would kiss the top of my head from time to time. _

_Suddenly, the sunlight was replaced by moonlight and Edward disappeared. As I scarbbled to my feet panic started to set in. Where'd Edward go? How was I going to get home? _

_I heard cold cruel laughter and spun around searching for the source. Out of nowhere, I felt a cold hand grip my wrists with a bruising force. I cried out from the pain. I heard a chuckle as I stuggled to get free. _

_"I told you, you can't escape me." Kyle's voice whispered in my ear. _

_So he was back again. And he had taken Edward from me this time. _

_"Where's Edward?" I asked through gritted teeth._

_Kyle waved his free hand and all eight of the Cullens were suddenly tied to the trees in front of me. The were struggling against their bonds. That was odd. Not even chains should've been a challenge for them to get out of. _

_"Steel cables. Not even our kind can break through those." Kyle answered my unasked question. "I told you not even they would be able to save you. In fact, it might be a good idea to dispose of them now. What do you think?" _

_I shook my head the tears forming. Kyle chuckled and snapped his fingers. The gorund beneath the Cullens caught fire. The family struggled against the cables harder but nothing happened. _

_"Please, stop!" I yelled struggling to free myself from his grip. He laughed and held my wrists tighter. I knew he could've broke them both if he wanted to. "Leave them alone!" I looked up as the flames began to engulf them. I was still struggling while Kyle was laughing. "No! Edward!" _

_I felt the tears streaming down my face. Kyle snapped again as I slid to the ground. When I looked up, all that was left of my family was a smoldering pile of ash. As I cried, Ktle yanked me back up. _

_"We aren't finished yet." He whispered gleefully. _

_I closed my eyes as my surroundings began to shift. Once the world righted itself again, I felt sand beneath my bare feet and a waterfront breeze. I knew we were on FIrst Beach on La Push. The salt and rust smell of blood hit my nose before I could open my eyes. Knowing what I'd find, I kept them closed. _

_"Open your eyes!" Kyle ordered, squeezing my wrist a little tighter. _

_I cringed from the pain but refused to obey. He chuckled and snapped his fingers. My eyes opened without my permission. At my feet lay Jacob's bloody and bruised body. _

_"No! Jacob!" I yelled._

_Kyle laughed again. I looked up to find the the beach littered with the bodies of the rest of the pack. I turned to look into Kyle's smirking face. _

_"They didn't do anything!" I yelled. _

_I was so angry, I began to pound my fists against his chest. I knew it wasn't hurting him but it sure made me feel a hell of a lot better. He grabbed my wrists again and yanked me toward him until I was an inch from his face. _

_"On the contrary, Isabella," he spat. "They tried to protect you from me. But I always get what I want." _

_He shoved me back and I tripped over Jacob's body. I landed hard on my butt with Kyle standing over me. I tried to crawl away but he grabbed a fistful of my hair. _

_"Wait, there's more." he smirked. _

_THe scene swirled again. I cloesed my eyes so I wouldn't throw up. When everything righted itself, I felt the vinyl of a car seat. Curious, I opened my eyes before my other senses could catch up with me. I found myself staring into the bloody face of Charlie. I swallowed back the vomit that threatened to come up. _

_"No! Not here!" I yelled trying not to cry anymore than I already was. I turned to the passenger door and tried to open it. It wouldn't even budge. I could hear Kyle laughing in the backseat. "Let me out! Let me go!" _

_"Even though, I had nothing to do with this one, it's your most entertaining raction." Kyle stated calmly. "I wonder?" _

_He put his hand on my shoulder and gripped it painfully. I was relieved when everything started to change again. This time I found myself chained to wall with Kyle standing in front of me. My heart beat faster as I thought of what he'd do to me now. Then I heard a whimper from across the room. I looked up to see Renee lying on the floor. She was bound and blindfolded. _

_"No!" I yelled struggling against the chains. Kyle smirked and walked over to Renee. He yanked her up and she let out a cry of pain. "Mom!" I yelled. _

_"Bella?" she said. "Where are you?" _

_I didn't have a chance to answer. Kyle backhanded her and she flew across the room. She landed at my feet. _

_"Please leave her alone!" I begged as Kyle walked towards us. He kneeled down and squeezed her left wrist. Her scream pierced the room drowning out the sound of her shattering bone. Kyle laughed as he continued to beat her. I struggled to get free begging for her life. _

_Then, out of nowhere, I heard my angel's voice. He was reminding me that I could wake up anytime I wanted. Somehow, I'd forgotten it was only a dream. Edward told me that everyone was fine and we could check on them once I woke up. _

_I closed my eyes trying to focus on Edward's voice instead of Renee's screams. It was hard because Kyle noticed that he was about to lose me. In an effort to hold me there, he hurt Renee worse. I could hear Edward's voice bordering on hysteria as he begged me to wake up. It wasn't until Edward, once again, told me he loved that I was able to fully block out what was happening in front of me._

_I forced myself back to Edward. After a minute, I felt the cold wall and chains disappear to be replaced by a nice warm bed and sheets. _

My eyes fluttered open and I was face to face with Edward and my family.

"Are you alright?" Edward asked stroking my hair.

I couldn't hold back my hysteria long enough to answer. I burst into tears as Edward pulled me close to him. He whispered comforting things as he gently rocked me.

"Carlisle," Edward said after a couple minutes. "Will you please call Sam? Tell him what happened and that Bella would feel better if he did a head count. Just to make sure that everyone's safe." He kissed the top of my head. "And Alice call Renee. Make up some kind of an excuse for calling. Just make sure that Phil and Renee are okay."

I didn't ask how he knew what I was dreaming about. I figured I did a lot of screaming. Alice and Carlisle went to do what Edward asked. The rest of the family trickled out until it was just Edward and I.

I continued to cry for a few minutes. He whispered comforting things as he rocked me and stroked my hair. His words eventually turned into my lullaby. I didn't realize how much I truly missed it until that moment.

"Stay with me." I whispered at one point. "Even if I fall back to sleep."

"I'll stay all night if that's what'll make you feel better." He replied.

"I love you." I whispered into his chest.

I knew at that moment that I meant it with my whole heart and soul. I knew I loved him, even when I convinced myself that I loved Jacob. My heart had always belonged to Edward and nothing could change that.

"I love you too." he replied and kissed the top of my head.

Hearing him say those words made me feel better. I knew that if Kyle wanted to attack my dreams again, Edward couldn't stop him. Yet, I felt so much safer in his arms knowing he still loved me. 


	9. Pain, Angst, and Anger

**A/N: Okay, there's one thing I need to tell you about this chapter. Edward's reaction to Roxanne's actions may not make sense to you yet. The don't even make sense to Edward. Alice will, however, explain it to him in the next chapter. **

**ROXANNE**

I watched as Bella clung to Edward's chest. Listened to the poor girl's heartwrenching sobs. I couldn't believeKyle had the nerve to go after her while she was surrounded by eight vampire, with a wolf pack prowling around her, that could rip him to shreds if he hurt her.

I vaguely wondered if he knew I was part of the family. I wondered if I was the reason he was torturing Bella like this. If the was the case, I was prepared to turn myself over to him. I couldn't deal with watching another inoccent girl go throught he same things that I went through. I had to know what he wanted. If I could stop Bella's pain, I would.

I hoped Edward was too focused on Bella to pay attention to my thoughts. I waited until the family was distracted with thinking of ways to help Bella before I left. I knew he had to be somewhere close by. His [pwers wouldn't work out of a certain range.

"Kyle!" I yelled as I ran through the forest. "Kyle, I know you're around. If you knew what was good for you, you'd come out."

I myself knew that I would never have the guts to do anything if I found him. I prayed with all my might that he didn't know that. It would ruin the whole point of my coming here. I heard a chuckle from behind my back. When I spun around to find the source, I found myself face to face with my worst enemy and the love of my life. It had been five years since the last time I laid eyes on him.

He was as handsome as ever. His brown hair was a little shorter than it was five years ago. His eyes wwre a very deep crimson. I ignored the nausea that crept into my stomach at the thought of his latest victim. He had an evil grin spread across his face. My breath hitched. I wasn't sure if it was fear or excitement. I felt disgusted with my self for feeling the latter.

How could I possibly still love him? After all the horrible things he's done to me? And with all the things he's doing to Bella? God, only knew what else he had planned for her.

"Rox," he sneered. "It's been awhile. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"What do you want with Bella?" I asked trying to keep the shake out of my voice.

"The same thing I wanted with you, of course?" he smirked. "Only I'm looking for more of a challenge. And a girl protected by eight vampires and pack of werewolves is perfect."

"So this has nothing to do with getting me back?" I questioned.

"Nope." he replied. "Unless, of course, you wanna join me then we can arrange something."

"I'd never join a monster like you. And if you get anywhere near Bella, I'll rip you apart myself." I stated sounding braver than I thought.

I had to keep reminding myself that I was doing this for Bella. The thought of her crying and screaming in her sleep was the only thing keeping me from running or giving him what he wanted. I knew it would be easier for everyone involved to just hand Bella over to him but it wouldn't be right. I couldn't do that to my new sister. She already meant too much to me for that.

He started laughing loud and hard.

"Give me a break." he responded. "You couldn't kill me if you wanted to."

"And what makes you think that?"

"You still love me. Even after everything that I put you through. I still have you wrapped around my finger. If I told you to kill Bella, you'd do it out of fear of what I'd do. Even when you were my captive, you still did everything I said with the hope that things could go back to the way the were. You were never afraid of me, just afraid I'd leave you if I got bored. And I did. Now, we're back where we started and you're trying to get back in my good graces. But you'll always be the pathetic and stupid human who fell for every trick I played. You brought what I did upon yourself." he explained.

He hit a nerve. How could he possibly tell me it was all my fault? I was just a lonely fifteen year-old looking for a friend. He offered me that friendship because he knew I was vulnerable. Yes, I did fall for everything that he told me but I needed someone I could trust. I trusted him with every fiber of my being and he betrayed that trust. If this was anyone's fault, it was his.

Still, everything he said was making me feel stupid and worthless again. It was like we were back at the warehouse and I was powerless to stop his attacks. I thought laying on the floor listening to his verbal abuse and not being able to defend myself. I knew if I opened my mouth he would hurt me. At some point my memory shifted, it was no longer me on the floor but Bella. That's when I remebered why I came here.

Bella was now the defenseless one and it was my job to protect her. Kyle and I were on a level playing field now. I was just as fast and strong as he was. If he tried to hurt me for speaking my mind, I could fight back. Bella, however, couldn't. I needed to do what I could to protect Bella. I knew killing him was the only thing that would stop him.

I sank down into a crouch letting out a low growl.

"I really don't have time to play this game with you." he sneered. "Besides, I could have you in a pile of ashes before you could even attack."

I snorted. I knew he could abuse me all he wanted but killing me was a completely different story. He had his chance and proved that he cared for me too much to actually go through with it. Feelings like that just don't go away. I knew that for a fact.

"If you couldn't kill me five years ago, what makes you think you can do it now?" I questioned. "You loved me too much then and feelings like that just don't do away!"

Before I could even finish, he had grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. I let out a small whimper of pain.

"Let's get one thing straight." he whispered dangerously. "Any human feelings that you got out of me five years ago are dead." As if to prove his point, he squeezed my arm until I felt and heard the bone shatter. I let out a samll cry of pain. "And if you get in my way, I won't hesitate to kill you.

He then shoved me to the ground and was gone before I recovered. I cringed as I felt the bone in my arm repair itself.

**KYLE**

I ran away feeling pretty good about that meeting. I had put Roxanne back in her place and realized how much she truly cared for her new family. I could use that to my advantage. All I needed to do was plant a simple suggestion inside Roxanne's head. It would be easier if I could just get to Bella but the Cullens were on constant alert around her. So I'd just get Roxanne to do it for me. That way I could have both.

All I had to do was find a way to get Roxanne alone again.

**ROXANNE**

"Damn it!" I yelled to the trees.

I was counting on him wanting me back. It would've made things so much better. I had no idea how we were going to protect Bella now. I knew, from experience, that Kyle didn't stop until he got what he wanted.

It was only a matter of time before the mental attacks stopped and the physical ones started. He'd kill everyone of the Cullens if he had to. There was no way to stop him. We didn't know how many powers he had. Or even how he gained them.

We could only guess how strong he was. Which meant we could only guess the ways we could fight him. We couldn't gamble Bella's life on guesses. We had to be sure we could win before we tried anything. Kyle would be able to use our unsureness against us.

I ran back to the house, lost in my thoughts. I hope everyone had been too distracted to notice my absence. If they had, I could get away with lying to everyone except Edward, Alice, and maybe Jasper. I'd just say that I had to go for a run to clear my head.

Unfortunately, it was Edward on the couch when I arrived. He had his arms folded over his chest and he looked livid. To tell the truth, I was a bit scared of the look in his eyes. It was the look Kyle always had before he would hurt me. I was too emotionally spent to deal with talking about what I had just done. Especially with someone who looked like they wanted to kill me.

I tried to run up the stairs before he could say anything. Sadly, Edward was much faster than me and blocked the stairs. He stood in front of me with his arms crossed and refused to budge.

"Where were you?" he asked breathing heavily.

"I went for a run to clear my head." I tried to keep my mind blank as I said this. He gave me an I-know-you-better-than-that look. I knew I wasn't getting away without confessing. "Fine, I went to see Kyle, okay!"

"Alone?" he pressed.

"I knew he wouldn't've come out if someone was with me." I explained.

"You shouldn't have gone! He could've killed you!"

"I'm well aware of that! I'm also away of the defenseless girl upstairs! She needs someone to save her! I'm the only one who even has a small idea how!"

"You're just like her." he replied with a forced chuckle. "Always trying to protect others with no regard to yourselves."

"We're just trying to do what's right by the ones we love." I stated trying to calm down even though he wasn't.

"Is it right to make the ones you love worry about you?! Is it right right to put yourself in a position to where you could be taken away from us forever?!"

He began to pace in exasperation. I was shocked by his outburst and reaction to what I had done. I wasn't use to having someone worry about me. It had been nearly six years since anyone really gave a damn about me.

I was so used to being alone and not having to think about the effect my actions would have on others. I just acted on impulse like always. I knew I had to try and protect Bella but I forgot about my new family. They wanted me to be safe as badly as I wanted Bella to be.

"I'm sorry, I worried you." I said placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off still seething. "It's just, I'm still not use to having people who care. I saw Bella as the poor defenseless human that I used to be and knew I couldn't let that happen to her. I did the first thing I could think of. I went to find out why he wanted her."

"I understand Roxy." He replied still sounding angry but not as much as before. He turned back to me. "It's going to take you awhile to get used to having a family. I get that but you just can't go out looking for a sadistic vampire. Even if you think it's going to help Bella. What if he had killed you? How do you think Bella would've felt about that?"

His anger was returning and I still couldnt' figure out where it was coming from. You'd think that I was the one he was hurting Bella. All I did was try to help her. Why was I being yelled at for that?

I didn't even understand why we were having this conversation. I did not even get hurt, that badly. There was no permanent damage to my arm. And Bella didn't even know I had gone. She didn't have to find out so there was nothing to be fighting about. Edward was blowing this way out of proportion.

"Look Edward, nothing that bad happened and I'm fine. Bella doesn't even know I was gone. You're overreacting." I stated as calmly as I could in my already shaken up state.

"Overreacting!" he yelled. "You could've been killed!"

I didn't understand why he was so upset but it was scaring me. The look on his face was the same one Kyle and my biological father had whenever the hit me. I felt another one of my vampire panic attacks coming on. I had to get away from him or I was going to break down in front of him. It was a reaction born from what Kyle and my father had done but I wasn't going to let him see me like that.

"But I wasn't!" I said my voice cracking slightly. "Now, I'm going to take a shower. If you wanna talk when you've calmed down, I'll be in my room."

With that, I ran up the stairs. When I reached my room, I collasped on the bed and tried to force out the tears that would never come.

**A/N: I'm not sure if vampires can break each others bones or not. There are too many different ideas out there for me to be sure so please just go with it. Special cookies to anyone who can figure out what power Kyle is planning to use on Roxanne. Well, I guess that's it. And just as an extra aside, I went to see the Unborn {with Cam Gigandet (not sure if I spelled that right)} this afternoon. It was one of the better horror movies I've seen in awhile. And it was the first time I saw Cam as something other than a antagonist. It was a nice change. He really is a very versitile actor. I recommend it for anyone who wants a good scare or an excuse to cling to their boyfriend. I guess that's it. I hope you enjoyed. Please review!!!!!!!!!**


	10. Reasons and Love

**A/N: This chapter is going to explain why Edward overreacted to Roxanne's meeting with Kyle. Please bare with me. I know exactly what I'm trying to say but explaining it is harder than I thought. I hope you guys can understand. (To avoid anytime confusion, it is between 8 and 9 in the morning.)**

**EDWARD**

I stood there, still seething, and watch he walk calmly up the stairs. She was right. I was overreeacting. Like she said nothing happened so why was I dwelling on the what ifs?

I've only ever been this angry three times. And all three involved Bella's life being in danger. (A/N: Cookies to anyone who can guess the three times.) I didn't understand why I was suddenly as concerned with Roxanne's safety as Bella's. Don't get me wrong. I cared about Roxanne a lot but I cared about Rosalie and Alice a lot too. Yet, I've never been this uptight about their safety.

_"Edward," _Alice's thoughts cut through mine. _"Bella'll be awake in about an hour but I need to talk to you first."_

I was up the stairs and in Bella's room in less than half a second. Alice was sitting in a chair next to the bed, rubbing circles on the back of Bella's hand with her thumb. Thankfully, Bella was still sleeping peacefully. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"What's up?" I asked sitting on the foot of the bed.

"I heard what happened between you and Roxanne." she stated. "You both sounded pretty upset."

"Yeah, I think I scared her." I replied. "God, I don't know why I got so upset." I put my head in my hands.

"Isn't it obvious?" Alice asked rhetorically. "You care a lot about her."

"So, I care about you and Rosalie too but I don't fly off the handle like that when you guys are in danger." I tried to explain.

"That's because you know Rosalie and I can take care of ourselves. But, with Roxy, you're the only one she's gone into detail about her captivity with. You know exactly how he broke her mind, body, and soul. You know that, even if she is physically ready for a confrontation with him, she is not emotionally ready for it. You know that she is still mentally and emotionally vulnerable to him. He could have her on her knees with just a few words. That's why you were worried. You don't want Kyle to have the chance to get her back. You don't want to see her suffer like that again."

I stared at my sister in utter amazement.

How could you possibly know I'm feeling all of that?" I quesioned. "I'm not even sure."

"Hello, future seer here." she answered sarcastically pointing at herself. "Just think about. You'll find that I'm right. Also, once you explain yourself, she'll understand and forgive you."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Of course." she smiled. "Now Jasper and I are going on a hunt. Carlisle is going to want a family meeting when he gets off work. He spent the whole night looking up telepathy, dreams, and all things connected. He's trying to find a way to block Bella's subconcious from Kyle."

I nodded and hoped he had found something. It made me carzy to see my angel suffering and not be able to stop it. I knew, part of me, was only angry with Roxanne because she didn't take me with her. I could've finished Kyle once and for all and all this wouldn't matter.

The odd thign was there was no trace of Kyle anywhere. I knew he had to be in range of my power for his power to work on Bella but I couldn't pick up any of his thoughts. None of us had caught an unfamiliar scent. The werewolves were currently checking in on a few disppearances from Port Angeles but they can't even catch his scent. It was like this guy didn't exist but we knew he was there. Not being able to find him frustrated me beyond belief.

_"We'll find and destroy him." _Alice thought. _"Just like we did James." _

"James was a close call." I stated. "If we were any later, she'd be dead or one of us right now. I don't want Kyle to get that close."

"We have an advantadge this time, though." Alice denoted. "Roxy knows how his mind works. She can help us with a plan."

"I hadn't thought about that." I stated.

She was a bout to reply when Jasper knocked on the door. A second later, he poked his head in.

"You ready, babe?" he asked.

"I'll be right down." Alice replied.

Jasper shut the door and went back downstairs.

"Go have fun." I stated and she headed to the door. "And Alice, thanks for the talk. I appreciate it."

"It's what I'm here for." she stated and bounced out the door.

I laid down next to Bella and thought of everything that Alice had said. She was right about all of it. I cared for Roxy's safety as much as Bella's because, in my mind, neither of them could handle themselves. Bella was only human, after all. She needed protection twenty-four seven. If she wasn't falling in love with super natural beings or being attacked by sadistic vampires, she was falling down stairs and being nearly crushed by vans. The poor girl was just a danger magnet who needed her supernatural boyfriends to save her all the time.

It was a similiar case with Roxanne, with one difference. Roxy didn't need protected from everything. She just needed to be protected from Kyle. It was like Alice said, he broke her in every sense of the word. He violated her trust and hurt her beyond measure. She was nowhere near ready to handle being around him. He could still crush her so easily. The worst part was she still loved him enough to let him get that close. How she was able to escape this meeting with nothing more than a shattered arm was beyond me.

I could only guess the reasons he didn't take her. Surely, he knew she would still follow him anywhere. Unless, he didn't want her. Or he needed her here and alive for something else. Maybe he was planning to use her for something.

I'd have to talk to Carlisle about that possibility when he got home from the hospital. We'd probably have to move Roxy away from here . At least until we figured out how to kill Kyle.

I'd also have to discuss the theory with Roxy after I apologized. That would have to wait until later though. Bella was going to be awake any minute. I already felt bad for breaking my promise. O was going to be here when she woke up. I needed to make sure that she was okay.

I laid next to her, stroking her hair for a few more minutes before she began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and my dead heart gave a jolt. I didn't realize how much I missed her waking up in my arms until that moment.

"Good morning." she said.

"Good morning, love." I replied kissing her forehead. "Did he come back at all?"

"No." she replied. "In fact, I didn't dream about anything but you."

"Good." I kissed the tip of her nose.

She had no idea how much I missed her. When I looked at her face again, I had to suppress a chuckle. She looked like she wanted to be angry but couldn't get it worked up enough. This was one of those times not being able to read her thoughts frustrated me.

"What are you thinking?" I asked like I usually did at times like this.

"Well," she responded blushing slightly. "I'm trying to be mad at you but finding it very hard as usual."

"I see." I kissed the top of her head again. "Can I asked what I did to deserve your attempted wrath?" I asked in a teasing manner.

"You left me last night. You said you stay even after I fell asleep but you didn't."

I chuckled a little. I wondered how she knew I was gone. She was asleep when I left. I'd have to ask her.

"I'm sorry. Roxanne disappeared shortly after you went back to sleep." I explained. "I wanted to make sure everything was okay when she got back."

"I suppose that's understandable." she replied teasingly. I chuckled and kissed her forehead again.

"Am I forgive?" I asked planting another kiss on her nose.

"I suppose." she replied. I chuckled again. "Don't laugh at me."

"Sorry." I responded. "So, out of curiousity, how did you know that I was gone? You were asleep when I left."

The blood flowed to her cheeks again. God, I missed that blush the most. I touch my hand to her cheek and smiled.

"I've slept with your arms around me long enough to know the difference between your touch and Alice's." she answered. "Even if it's in a subconcipus state."

I shook my head suppressing another chuckle.

"What time is it?" she asked after a minute of silence.

"It's a quarter to nine." I stated reading the clock behind her.

"Shit!" she yelled and struggled to untangle herself from the sheets.

She had managed to get herself into a sitting position before I grabbed her arm.

"Bella, calm down love." I said calmly.

"I can't calm down, Edward. I have class in fifteen minutes!" she said trying to stand up.

"Relax." I said. "Carlisle thinks it might be best if you took the day off and relaxed."

"That would be great but I have a paper due." she shot back.

"Rosalie and Emmett are on their way to drop it off for you. They're going to tell the professor that you're sick." I explained.

Carlisle and Esme discussed it before he went to the hospital.

"Oh." she said as she finally relaxed. I heard her heartbeat slow a little. "They didn't have to do that."

"They know." I told her. "They wanted to."

She blushed and that one did it for me. I had been trying to ignore her lips by kissing other parts of her face. I didn't want to go too fast and make her uncomfortable. But seeing her blush like that, I couldn't stop myself. I cupped my hand around her cheek and leaned in to her lips. Just before they touched, she put her finger to mine.

"Can I have a human minute?" she asked. I chuckled and wondered if she sused to say the same thing to Jacob.

"Of course, I have to go apologize to Roxy anyway." I replied.

"Why?" she asked.

"I kinda gave her a harder time than was necessary after her disappeareance."

She nodded. Then the smell of french toast and bacon wafted into the room and she rolled her eyes.

"Please, don't tell me Esme's cooking for me again?She doesn't have to. I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself." she stated.

"She knows that." I said rubbing her cheek. "She likes doing it. Cooking was her favorite thing to do when she was a human. When you're here, she can do it and have somebody to enjoy it. Besides, we don't mind doing things for you. You know that."

"I know." she replied blushing again. "I just wish I could do things for you guys too."

"You bring even more love and life to this family. You remind us of what it's like to be human. That's enough for everyone in this family. Besides, everyone here loves you and would do anything for you. And won't expect a thing in return. You're family and we take care of family."

Her breath hitched and her heart rate picked up. She stared into my eyes for a minute.

"Screw morning breath!" she exclaimed.

She leaned over and her lips met mine. There was so much passion and love from her that I felt the careful control I always had around her start to slip. I kissed her back just as passionately wanting nothing more than to take every bit of her back. I knew I couldn't though. It wasn't just the fact that it was too dangerous for her. I know had to take into account how she felt about losing Jacob.

Though, I now knew that her feelings for me were not because of the loneliness, I knew she was still vulnerable and didn't want to take advantadge of that. Bella deserved so much better.

As gently as I could, I broke the kiss and pushed her off of me.

"Sorry." she said.

"No." I said. "It was me not you."

She nodded but looked away as if ashamed. I gently grabbed her chin between my thumb and forefinger and turned her face back to me.

"I love you." I said. "Now, go to your human minute while I talk to Roxy. She and I will meet you in the dining room."

"Okay." she replied. "I love you too."

She gave me a quick peck on the lips before getting up. I watched as she collected her shower things. I smiled as she headed to her bathroom. Things were finally looking up for both of us. Now if we could only find a way to get rid of Kyle, thinggs would be perfect.

**A/N: Once again, nothing really happens in this chapter. I just figured some Edward/Bella fluff would be kind of fun. I also like the close relationship Edward and Alice have. I try to bring that out as much as possible. Plus, I thought it'd be kind of cool to have Alice tell Edward what he was thinking instead of the other way around. I hope you enjoyed. Please Review!!!**

And a special thank you to all of my readers and reviewers who stuck through the few weeks I had a sick computer. I really appreciate the loyalty. 


	11. Apologies and Explanations

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in this chapter. My muses are kind of in overdrive right now. I just finished my Blue Bloods one shot and now they've inspired me to finish a Harry Potter sequel that I started but haven't been able to finish. I'm going to try to finish this one before I get too involved with the Harry Potter one but I can't make any promises. Sorry. Please stick with me. Come hell or high water, Hurt Like This will get finished. I love it too much to walk away from it. **

**EDWARD**

I walked down the hall to Roxy's room. As I approached her door, I heard Taylor Siwift's Picture to burn blaring through the room. I cringed at Roxanne's taste in music. (A/N: For the record, I love Taylor Swift. I think she is one of the best artists out there. However, Edward doesn't seem like the country music type.) I knocked gently three times.

"Who is it?" she asked over the music.

"It's Edward." I said feeling slightly uncomfortable. "Can we talk?"

I hear her click the radio off and her sootsteps as she walked to the door. She opened it but stood in the doorway blocking my entrance. She looked like she had just finished her shower. Her still damp hair was pulled into a loose, low ponytail. She was wearing a black tank top with about half an inch of her abdemon showing. It wan't very low cut. And a pair of sweat pants. She told me that she didn't like to show more of her body than nessecary because of her scars.

"That depends," she said. "Are you done yelling at me?"

"That's what I wanted to talk about." I stated. "I owe you an explanation and apology."

"Fine." she replied and stepped out of the way.

I stepped inside and knew immediately that Alice was the one who decorated it. The room was covered in pinks and purples. The walls were painted a deep purple with a light pink trim. Roxanne's dresser was covered with hand stenciled with pink carnations and purple lilacs. Thankfully, her couch was black. I wasn't sure if I'd be comfortable sitting on a pink couch.

It felt awkward enough being in a room with that much pink. It looked more like a ten year olds room than a sixteen year olds. I wanted to ask her if Alice gave her any say in the decoration process but there were more important matters at hand. I sat down in a corner of the couch and tried to get a read on her. Unfortunately, she learned the easiest way to block herself was to sing the country music that she loved so much in her head. I hated country music. It was the only genre that I could not stand. She knew that. Which is why she chose to sing some song where the singer is trying to tell someone that no matter how girly they make him, he's still a man. (A/N: Cookies to anyone who can name the song.)

I didn't even want to hear what that was about. I supposed I couldn't get out of this one without actually hearing her talk. Not that I minded, people were just so much easier to understand when you already knew what they were trying to say. She sat at the other end of the couch and looked at me a little apprehensively. Wonderful! I had scared her.

"First," I began. "I want to apologize for overreacting earlier. But you have no idea how worried I was. When I heard you had left and didn't tell anyone where you were going, I freaked out a little. Esme figured you just needed to clear your head but I had a bad feeling it was something else. Then when you came home and told me that you had been alone with Kyle, I snapped."

"I know you were worried." she interrupted. "But I'm not the same human I used to be. I'm just as strong as he is."

"That may be true." I stated. "But after everything he did and said to you, you're mind is still very fragile. Especially when it comes to him. You may not think that because you wanna believe that you've gotten over it but it's true. He put you through hell and told you over and over how worthless and unimportant you are. He's convinced you that nobody in this world cared about you anymore. And at some point you began believing it."

"But, I know none of that's true now." she protested. "I've been away from his influence for five years."

"Yes, but if he really wanted to, he could have you right back to where you were five years ago. All he'd have to do is say the words and you'd believe him. It's completely pshycological. You wouldn't even be concious of what was happening.

Her concentration slipped and her thoughts came pouring into my head. She was thinking about what happened in the woods with him. He told her everything that happened was her fault. She thought of how, even though, she knew it wasn't, his words still made her feel stupid and pathetic.

She realized that I was right. The only thing that kept her in one piece in those moments was thinking of how she had to help Bella. However, she knew that if he attacked her with his words anymore, she'd go right back to being the defenseless human she once was again.

"Now do you understand why I was so upset." I asked after a minute. She nodded. "I care about you, a lot, Roxy. Regardless of our relationship and the thought of anything happening to you kills me. I know that if Kyle got in far enough, you'd do anything he says. I don't want that to happen. I know the things he's done to you in the past. I can't stand the thought of allowing those things to happen again. I would go crazy especially if I couldn't stop it. I don't wanna see him hurt you anymore than I wanna see him hurt Bella."

"I understand where you're coming from, Edward, I do." she explained. "But what you need to understand is this is as much my fight as it is Bella's. Kyle tore my life apart. He's hurt me in ways you can't even imagine. Yes, I've told you about it but it isn't the same as living through it. I had to go last night. Not just for Bella but for myself as well. The things you say maybe true and it's for those reasons that I had to do it. I need to get over the mental and emotional hold he has on me. It's the only way that I'll ever be able to truly move on with my life. I can't let them threat of him continue to scare me. I don't belong to him anymore. I have to show him that. And standing back and letting my family fight this battle isn't going to help anything."

I hadn't stop to think about things this way. She was right, though. She needed to be able to stand up to him. It was the only way to make her demon go away. Still, I didn't want her anywhere near him alone. Especially if no one knows where she is.

"Okay." I said. "Let's compromise, I understand your need to stand up for yourself and Bella but I don't want you going to see him again. Especially not alone. If he comes here looking for a fight then I won't stop you but I won't let you go after not without protection."

"I can live with that." she replied. "So how is Bella doing anyway?"

"She's good. She says he didn't come back last night but I can never be sure with her."

"What do you mean?"

"She has a tendency to downplay things so the family won't worry"

"I see. But I'm pretty sure she's telling the truth. Kyle is a very sick creature. If he visited her again, we would've heard it."

She made a good point. Bella always talked in her sleep. Especially when the dreams took an emotional or frightening turn. If she had dreamed about anything other than me, she would've started screaming again and Alice would've told me.

The thought that Bella could possibly be suffering in silence weighed heavily on my mind. It would be exactly something she would do. Even after everything, she felt like she was a burden to us. I wished there was a way we could make her see how much she means to us. How happy we are to help her.

"I'm sure she'd tell you if he did. She knows how serious this could be for her and all of you." Roxanne stated seeing the look on my face.

"I'll just feel a whole lot better once we've found and destroyed him." I stated. "I just can't believe there isn't a trace of him anywhere. I can't get a lock on his thoughts or his scent. It's like he doesn't even exist. The wolves found a couple memebers of their tribe dead on their side of the line last night. Jacob caught a scent that wasn't one of ours and followed. He followed the trail for a half hour then it suddenly disappeared."

"I know." Roxy replied. "He's always had a knack for disappearing when he needed too. After my transformation, I tried to track him because I wanted to confront him. Six months I searched but came with nothing. It was like he just disappeared. I don't know how he does it. It could just be something he's gotten good at over three centuries or it could be one of his gifts. I have no idea."

"Let's talk about his gifts for a minute." I stated. There were some questions I needed to ask her. I needed to find out everything that he was capable of. We needed every bit of information we could get, if we wanted to defeat him. "How many does he have? Where does he get them?"

"I don't know for sure how many or how he gets them. I'm not even sure what a lot of them are. I just know the ones he used to use on or around me." she answered clearly frustrated at not being able to help too much.

I heard footsteps in the hallway and no thoughts to accompany them. Bella must be finished with her human minute and heading downstairs. As much as I wanted to contnue this conversation with Roxanne, I didn't want to lose any time with Bella. I had lost too much in the time we had been apart. I wasn't about to lose more.

"It's okay." I told Roxanne. "The stuff you do know will be a major help. Carlisle wants to have a meeting tonight and we'll talk more about it then." Roxy nodded. "Right now though, Bella is heading downstairs for breakfast and I said I'd meet her there. Would you like to "join" us?"

I put air quotes around the word join and she laughed.

"That would actually be nice." she replied once her laughter subsided. "I haven't had much time to get to know her."

By the time Roxy and I made it downstairs, Bella was already sitting in front of a plate loaded with french toast and bacon. A large glass of orange juice sat beside it. Bella looked beautiful in a blue turtleneck sweater and a pair of light blue jeans. Her still wet hair was pulled back into a messy bun. A stared at her mesmerized as she pour syrup on her french toast. It took me a minute to realize that both girls were looking at me as if I was crazy.

"What?" I asked.

"Why are you staring at me?" Bella asked.

"I'm just admiring the beauty in front of me." I replied.

The blood rushed to her face as she looked down at her plate. I chuckled softly.

"Good morning, Roxanne." Bella said once she recovered.

"Good morning, Bella." Roxy replied.

I was surprised to find there was no tension in their greetings. In fact there was none in the body language either. I thought there would be some jealousy and anger issue to work through. As Roxy and I took a seat on either side of Bella and chatted happily about nothing, I realized just how wrong I was. It seemed the two were on their way to being very good friends. After awhile of their girly gossip, I chuckled as thoughts of Alice popped into my head.

"What's so funny?" Roxy asked.

"I was just think that Alice had better watch out." I explained. "If she doesn't, you could replace her as Bella's favorite sister."

"I love all of my sister exactly the same." Bella protested.

"Don't tell Alice that." I stated. "She thinks that she's your favorite."

"Leave it to the psychic to just assume these things." Bella said with a chuckle.

Roxanne and I joined in her laughter.

We spent the rest of the day talking and laughing. We silently agreed not to talk about last night or Kyle. We'd do enough of that tonight. Instead, Bella told us all about her senior year in high school. The rest of the family joined us as the day wore on. Bella had just finished telling us about the day Mike Newton asked her out right in front of jacob, granted he had no idea that Jacob was her boyfriend, when Carlisle came home.

Knowing what it was time for, all nine of us headed to the dining room.

**A/N: I hoped that end didn't suck. I couldn't think of a decent way to do it. I hope it turned out alright. Not much to say about the chapter itself. I however, have to give cookies to mag721 who guessed two out of three times Edward was that angry. The three were; When he found out the Bella went to meet James, the birthday party incident when Jasper tried to attack her, and the night in Port Angeles when he saved her from those men. Well, that's it for today. Enjoy and please review!!!! I haven't really been getting the responses that I've been hoping for. Please, please review. I like to find out if I can improve and what you guys think in general. Please tell me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	12. Finally Figuring It All Out

**BELLA**

Carlisle chuckled as we went from the living room to the dining room. Apparently, he didn't to Alice about the meeting. She had taken it upon herself to tell the family.

"Alice, you never cease to amaze me." he said with a chuckle.

Alice simply smiled as she sat in one of the chairs at the table. Jasper sat down beside her and rested his arm on the top of her chair. Rosalie and Emmett stood in there usual corner. Emmett wrapped his arms around Rosalie's waist. Carlisle took his place at the head of the table and Esme stood behind him. Edward sat in the chair across from Carlisle. I took the seat on his left next to Alice. Roxanne sat on Edward's right.

"So, as Alice has probably already said, I spent most of last night researching dream walking. I know it's just a human experiment right now (A/N: Not sure about that but go with it.) but I thought there'd be something that could help. Unfortunately, I came up blank. There isn't even a way for Bella to protect herself from it. And since we can't catch his thoughts, future, feelings, or scent. We are going to have to deal with this the human way. We're gonna have to just look for him." Carlisle explained. "We do know that he has to be within a certain range for it to work for him. Which is why, I want four of you to stand guard in a twenty five mile radius of the house whenever Bella's asleep. I hoping that when he finds out we're watching, he'll back off for awhile. At least until we find a way to fight him. Now, Roxy, I know this is going to be difficult but I need you to tell me everything you can about Kyle's abilities. We need to know at least a little about what we are dealing with here."

Roxanne looked like this was something she didn't really want to do but agreed anyway. Carlisle pulled out a notebook and a pen. I wasn't sure why he wanted to right it all down. After all, they all had photographic memories.

"It helps if you can see everything laid out in front of you, Bella." Carlisle stated noticing my look of confusion. I simply nodded. "So we know that he can shield himself from our powers. And we know about the dream invasions." He had both things written in a matter of seconds. "What else can he do?"

"Well, I'm not sure if it's an ability or just something he's good at, but he's always had a knack for disppearing when he needed to. Like when he would come to visit me in the middle of the night, my parents would come up to check on me and he'd just be gone. Then after my transformation, I spent a few months tracking him but hit dead end after dead end. It was scary knowing he could do that. I was always worried he'd come back for me, without warning, and I'd be just as helpless as I was then." She took a deep shuddering breath. I gave her an encouraging smile as Carlisle hand flew across the paper. "Then there's the electric shock touch but you guys know about that one. Thankfull he has to be making direct skin contact for that one to work. I don't want to even think about the ways he tortured me with that." She closed her eyes as if trying to calm herself. "He can control the elements. You know earth, fire, air, and water. Those were terrible. He was constantly smothering me with too much air or taking it all away. Sometimes he'd even use water to choke me. He would always burn his victims after he fed." She shudder but continued, "And, this is the only other one I can remember, he can create illusions. You know like making you think you're walking on the beach or in hell. One time he made me believe that my biological father had gotten out of jail and he tried to kill me."

She fell silent after this. I don't think she could've said more even if she had more information. Edward put a comforting hand on hers and smiled encouragingly. Carlisle was staring at the list he had just made trying to make some kind of connection. I saw his eyes widen after a second like something had just clicked. Jasper spoke before I had a chance to ask Carlisle what he had just discovered.

"But Carlisle," he said. "Is it even possible for that many powers to manifest themselves in one being?"

"I don't think so." Carlisle answered. "But I think only one power manifested itself in Kyle."

"What do you mean?" Jasper asked.

"At least two of these powers should sound familiar to all of you. Except Bella and Roxanne." Carlisle stated. "Think carefully."

There was silence for minute as the Cullens thought about it. Comprehension dawned on each one of their faces, one after the other.

"The electric shock belongs to Kate, doesn't it?" Alice stated.

"Right, Alice." Carlisle stated. "Has anyone spotted the other?"

"Don't the illusions belong to Zafrina from the Amazon coven?" Rosalie questioned.

"Correct." Carlisle stated. "And I've only just realized why his dream walking power sounds so familiar. I met a vampire not too long before I met Edward who could do it. His name was Christopher. I actually stayed with him for a year or so. I don't know what happened to him after I left."

"So what does it all mean?" Esme questioned.

"It means that we are dealing with a very uncommon power. I've only ever seen one other like it." Carlisle answered. He rubbed his temples as if trying to remember better. "A few years before I decided to leave Volterra, Aro brought in a young vampire. I didn't think he was more than three or four years old. That's in vampire years, of course. His name was Peter. Like most of you know, Aro is obsessed with power. Especially unique ones like Alice's. Well, Peter's was very unique. It's difficult to explain though so please bare with me. He was like a shield only better. He could absorb the power that was being used on him."

I looked around the room and each face looked just as confused as I did. Carlisle chuckled.

"Let me give you an example, if Jane used her power on Peter, it would have no effect on him. However, once she tried to use her power on him, he'd be able to use it on her." He stated. That just confused me even more.

"Let me try." Edward said to Carlisle. "What Carlisle is trying to say is, Peter had the power to duplicate the powers used against him. For instance, if I tried to read Peter's mind, I wouldn't be able to but he could read mine."

"So he steals other peoples powers?" I asked.

"Pretty much." Edward answered. "Although, the intial carrier of the power gets to keep it. He just duplicates it. But do you think this power has manifested itself again. It doesn't seem all that common."

"I'm not for sure. It would explain a lot. Especially why he can get into Bella's head when you can't." Carlisle replied.

"Okay, so what happened to Peter?" I asked anxious to keep the conversation going.

"Aro offered him a position on the guard but he turned it down." Carlisle answered. "Peter was allowed to leave. A week later, though, Aro being as obsessed with power as he was, realized that if Peter was able to gather enough powers, he could overthrow the Volturi. Aro wouldn't have that. He was comfortable where he was. So he sent the guard to dispose of him."

"But if they couldn't use their powers on them, how did they get close enough?" Roxy asked.

"That's what I'm going to have to go to Italy to find out." Carlisle responded.

I noticed Edward tense. His grip on my hand tightened painfully but I didn't say anything. His sudden change of attitude worried me.

"You can't go there." Edward said.

"Edward, it's the only way to stop Kyle." Carlisle stated. "Besides, Aro and I are friends."

"That's not what I'm worried about." Edward replied. "The minute Aro sees your explanation for wanting the information, he'll know that Bella knows about us. Which means she'll either have to be killed or become one of us. I won't let either one happen."

"Edward, Aro will be more willing to compromise with Bella's life than Kyle will be." Carlisle argued.

I didn't pay much more attention to their arguement. It looked like I had three options. Get killed by the Volturi. Get killed by Kyle. Or become a vampire. I wouldn't mind the third but I knew it wasn't something Edward wanted. Besides, from the way Edward was acting about the Volturi, they killed exposure risked before they stopped to ask questions and I had a feeling it wouldn't be a pleasant death. I didn't think I wanted Carlisle to go to Italy either.

Then I thought of Kyle. I thought about every inoccent kill her tortured and killed. I thought about the what Roxanne was going through right now. She'd never get over what he did to her. Even if someone did destroy him. Still, she deserved justice. They all did.

"Edward," I said cutting Carlisle off. I placed my free hand on top of his. "Listen to me for a minute. Carlisle has to go to Italy. We have to get rid of Carlisle. I mean, what if Kyle gets bored with me and moves on to another inoccent human girl. It's not right to let her suffer not if we could stop it. And think about what Roxanne's going through and what all the girls before her went through. They deserve justice. If we can give it to them, we should."

He released my hand and put both his on the sides of my face. He pulled me closer to him until our noses almost touch.

"Bella, I just got you back. I can't lose you again." he said.

"I know, Edward." I replied. "But this is bigger than you and me, bigger than my life even. We have to do what's right even if it comes at a price. Please, Edward, we have to do this. We have to do it for Roxanne and the others who couldn't stand up for themselves."

We stared into each other's face for a long time. I could see the war raging on in his eyes. He wanted to do the right thing but he didn't want to put me in anymore danger. Finally, he broke the eye contact and looked at Carlisle.

"Fine." Edward said. "But if they order that she be killed, I don't want them to be the ones to do it. I'd die before I let those sick fucks (A/N: I know they aren't that bad in the books but if I get the repsonse I want, they will be.) touch her."

"Edward, we are feel the same way about that." Carlisle responded. Edward nodded. "Now, I'm going to arrange a flight to Italy. Esme, I want you to call Tanya and arrange a visit. Jasper, Alice I want you two to go find Zafrina and her sisters. Find out if they knew Kyle over six years ago. Get as many details about their encounters as possible. And Esme, I want someone to go with you, just in case."

"I'll go." Rosalie offered. "We'll need Emmett here if Kyle decides to make a move while were gone."

"Okay." Carlisle responded. "Now, Edward, I need you to meet the pack soon. Tell them everything we've just discussed. Ask them to keep an extra close eye out for Kyle. Give them permission to cross our borders if they need to." Edward nodded. "Also, I want two of you three to be with Bella at all times. When she's sleeping, one of you can patrol until we get back with all the information."

Everyone dispersed, preparing to do what Carlisle asked. Emmett went with Rosalie so they could say goodbye. Roxanne just went into another room to give Edward and I a little privacy. Edward was staring at the table. Worry etched all over his face. I slid of the chair and climbed into his lap.

"Please don't worry about the Volturi right now?" I asked.

"How can I not worry about them?" Edward stated. He couldn't quite keep the shake out of his voice. "They could kill you."

"I know but they don't even know about me yet." I stated simply. "So they aren't a threat. Kyle's the major threat. I don't want him to cacth you by surprise because you are worrying about something that's not even a threat yet. I spent nearly a year thinking that you were out of my life forever. It nearly killed me. I don't even want to think about what would happen if you were out of my life forever. So can we please just worry about Kyle now and the Volturi later."

"Of course." He replied and kissed the top of my head. I could tell he was just trying to humor me. "I love you." he whispered.

"I love you too." I replied and buried my head in his chest.

I felt his lips in my hair and wished we could just sit like that forever.

**A/N: Okay, I have quite a bit to say here, first of all, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I hoping it didn't take a turn for the stupid. Let me know how you feel about where it's headed. Next, cookies to ShadowFury21 who correctly guessed the song was Brad Paisley's I'm still a Guy. Finally, as Hurt Like This is coming to an end, I've gotten an idea for a third part to the story. I'm not sure if I'm going to do it yet or not and I want you guys' opinion. I'm setting up a poll for my profile so you can let me know what you think. One more thing, cookies to anyone who can figure out where Peter came from. Review and vote on my profile. I really want you guys' thoughts on making a third part. **


	13. Kate and Zafrina

**A/N:Okay, I'm skipping to the next day now. Simply because, nothing happened for the rest of the night, other than making phone calls and flight arrangements. I'm picking up when Rosalie and Esme meet up with the Denali coven. And then when Alice and Jasper meet with the Amazon coven. **

**ROSALIE**

Esme and I landed in Denali around noon the next day. One of the advantadges of having the kind of money we do is being able to arrange a last minute flight at any given time. Kate, Irina, and Tanya met us at the airport and drove us to their home in Kate's BMW. Eleazar and Carmen were away on an extended hunting trip. When we arrived, we got comfortable and shared some small talk. It was about a half hour before Tanya brought up the reason for our visits.

"So you said on the phone that this visit was urgent. Is everything alright at home?" she questioned.

"Well, everyone's alive and healthy and we've gained a new member." Esme explained. "There is, however, a bit of an issue with a vampire from her past."

"What kind of an issue?" Irina pressed.

"This particuliar vampire, Kyle, takes pleasure in the torture of young human girls." Esme continued. "Our new friend, Roxanne, was a former victim of his. It's by coincedence that they're both in Forks right now. The problem is, Kyle has his sights set on Bella."

Their was a gasp of shock and outrage from the other three. They hadn't even met Bella yet but they would already put their life on the line for her. Since we considered her family, they did as well. Regardless, of whether or not they knew her.

"So what can we do to help?" Kate asked.

"We were kind of hoping that Kyle's name would ring a bell to you, Kate." Esme answered.

"Kyle, let me think." Kate replied and was silent for a second. Suddenly her eyes got big and she gasped. "I've only ever met one Kyle. It was about ten years ago and it was one of the strangest experiences of my life."

"What happened? Did he seem particuliarly interested in you?" Esme pressed.

"The three of us were out hunting one afternoon and I had just killed a moose when I sensed someone was watching me. The odd thing was that I couldn't smell or hear anything. When I turned around their was a tall man with dark hair and red eyes. I knew right away that he was a vampire. So, ignoring my kill, I introduced myself and he told me his name was Kyle. I then explained that my family and I lived near by and request that he not hunt in this area. You know so nobody got suspicious. He agreed and we started talking. I could tell there was something off about him but I had a feeling he was very lonely. That's what kept me talking. Eventually, I brought him back here and introduced him to the family. Eleazar tried to get a read on him but couldn't, however, something about him made Eleazar very uncomfortable. We talked for a long time before he said he had to leave. Being polite, I walked him outside. When we got to the trees, he grabbed me. I got scared and used the highest voltage I could muster to get him to let me go. I was shocked when nothing happened to me. He, however, released my arm with a smirk and disappeared into the trees. It was the oddest thing I've ever seen. I didn't think much of it. In fact, I didn't even mention it to anyone." Kate explained. "You don't think that it's the same vampire, do you?"

"We aren't completely sure. Carlisle is checking deeper into the theory. We do know that he has the same power as you Kate. As well as a slew of other powers we think belong to other vampires." Esme explained.

I tuned the rest of the coversation out thinking about Kate explanation. She said that Eleazar had tried to read his powers but couldn't. That meant that Kyle had Eleazar's power too. I filed that information into the back of my mind, reminding myself to mention it to Carlisle when he came back from Italy. Esme finished explaining about our theory about Kyle as well as the oher powers that we were suspicious about.

We all the information was laid on the table, the sisters offered to come to Forks and help us with this problem. Esme declined because we didn't want to put them in any danger unless it was necessary. We also declined their offer to stay for the night, we needed to get back to Fork as soon as possible. We did, however, go on a quick hunt with them. It made the five to six hours on a cramped plain with humans a little more bearable.

After the hunt, we thanked the sisters for all of their help, and boarded the plane.

**ALICE**

We arrived at the airport where were we meeting the Amazon coven around two in the afternoon the next day. I hated that we had to use our financial influence to bump a a girl and her baby sister who were going to visit their sick grandmother. Then again, this could mean Bella's life and death, so I didn't feel guilty for too long.

Senna and Zafrina met us in the waiting area at our gate, Kachiri had stayed home to get things ready for us. Due to the airport having a forest behind it, we ran back to their place. It was much faster than fighting traffic in a car. Besides, there home was in the middle of the forest anyway. It was a wood structure built into a couple of trees. (A/N: I'm not sure if this is really how the Amzon coven lives. However, when people someone mention living in the Amazon this is what I picture.)

Kachiri greeted both Jasper and I with hugs before inviting us to sit. The house was furnished with what looked like hand made funiture. Most of it looked like it was made from things you'd find in the forest. Jasper and I sat in two of the wood chairs in the dining room.

"It's great to see you both." Senna said. "You don't visit enough. We miss you."

"I know. And we're sorry." I replied. "Things have been kind of crazy this past year."

"Unfortunately, this visit isn't social." Jasper stated getting straight to the point as always.

"Alice did say that it was urgent." Kachiri replied. "What's the problem?"

"We have to talk to Zafrina about a vampire she may have come into contact with some six or more years ago." I explained. "Do you remember ever meeting someone by the name of Kyle."

Zafrina closed her eyes for a moment as if trying to remember. She opened them after a second as realization set in.

"I did have a strange encounter with a vampire, I think his name was Kyle, about seven years ago." she answered. "Why?"

"Could you please explain what happened?" I pressed.

"Kachiri and Senna had gone out for a hunt. I decided to stay home because I wasn't thirsty. I in the living room reading when someone came up behind me and laid their hands on my shoulders. I didn't even hear or smell anything. Surprised, I immediately pulled away from the hands and sunk into a defensive crouch. The man behind me had dark hair and red eyes. I knew he was a vampire, mostly by his silent unexpected entrance but the red eyes and pale skin confirmed it. He was standing several feet from me with his hands raised as if in surrender. He apologized for scaring me. He introduced himself and told me that he didn't know there were others like him around here. I told him that my sisters and I had lived here for a few years. We talked some more. It was a pleasant conversation. That was until he told me that I had something that he wanted. When I said I didn't know what he was talking about, he tried to grab me. I was too fast for him though, and was on the other side of the room before he could touch me. I tried to give him the illusion that I had gotten out of the house but nothing happened. He stood there staring at me with a smirk on his face then he took off out the door. I told Senna and Kachiri the minute they got back but we didn't think anything of it." Zafrina explained. "Why do you ask?"

Jasper explained what was going on in Forks as I picked apart Zafrina's story. From the way things sounded, he knew that Zafrina had a power and what it was. Did that mean that when he took Kate's ability, he got Eleazar's too? I put the information in the back of my mind. I would have to discuss it with Carlisle later. It would make sense though. How else would he be able to gain some of the best powers without being able to tell exactly what they where before head. That was definitly something Carlisle should know once we got back.

Jasper finished his explaination and the girls offered their help. We declined, however, we did needed their permission to hunt before we got back on the plane. Being around humans was hard enough for Jasper without him being thirsty. The sisters gave our permission, of course. We said goodbye expessing our graditude for their help. An hour later we were boarding our plan.

**A/N: I know that chapter's short and I'm sorry but if I put in Edward's and Carlisle's P.O.V. when it came to there tasks, it would've been too long. Which is why I'm going to do two chapters for it. I hope this didn't turn out too bad. I'm quite tired tonight. Cookies to Ozzma105 for correctly guessing that I took Peter from Heroes. Unfortunately, I've never been able to watch the show, I just heard about Peter from some friends. Poll update for the night, so far the we are at a hundred percent for making a part three. Keep voting. You have until the last chapter of Hurt Like This goes up. I hope you enjoyed. Please review. **


	14. Aro and Sam

**A/N: I just want to make somehting clear about the time frame. I'm doing Carlisle's part first but Bella's takes place before his. Hers takes place befor Alice's and Rosalie's too. Poll update: We are at 66% for a part three and 33% for giving Bella a happy ending. Keep voting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**CARLISLE**

I arrived in Volterra around six o'clock the next night. It would've been earlier but the only flight I could get had three layovers. Thanks to a couple decades of living there, I was able to slip into the city unnoticed. I was surprised to find that I still remmebered my way into the St. Marcus building.

When I arrived in the reception area at the end of the tunnel, I noticed they had a different human working then I remembered. I shivered at the thought of how they disposed of the last one. Thinking about it, made me worry about what they'd do to Bella when they found out she knew our secret. I didn't tell Edward of these possible thoughts. I didn't want to worry him anymore than he already was. I was actually hoping that my friendship with Aro would save her from the terrible fate that other humans had faced by their hands. Still, I knew there were at least three powers in my family that Aro would do anything to get. It would be four once he found out about Roxanne. I prayed he wouldn't go as far as using Bella to get one of them.

The human at the desk smiled at me as I approached.

"Good evening, I'm Gianna." she said. "Can I help you?"

"I'd like to speak to Aro, please?" I stated kindly.

"And who may I say is calling?" Gianna asked.

"Carlisle Cullen." I replied.

She nodded and went through the door across the room. She was in the for a minute before she stepped out.

"He's attending to some business but he'll be with you in a moment." she stated with a smile. "You can have a seat."

"Thank you." I nodded to her.

I sat in one of the chairs and stared at the ceiling. I prayed that everything would work out and he'd leave Bella alone. She didn't need anymore pain and heartbreak in this life. Not with everything that she'd already lost. I didn't have anymore time to ponder things because Aro stepped out followed by Jane and Felix.

"Carlisle, old friend." Aro exclaimed opening his arms in a welcoming gesture. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you as well Aro." I replied. "Jane, Felix." I nodded to both of them in turn. They nodded back but didn't say anything.

"To what do we owe the honor." Aro said.

"My family is having a bit of a problem in Forks." I explained. "You see, we have recently gained another daughter, Roxanne. Unfortunately, she's had a very troubled past and it has caught up with her in Forks."

"I'm not sure I understand." Aro replied.

"It would be much easier to show you than explain it." I said knowing that his reading of my mind was inevitable anyway.

"Very well." He replied and held out his hand.

I took it. He closed his eyes as everything that had happened over the past two years flowed through to his mind. He made noises of disapproval or assent every know and then but didn't say anything. Ten minutes later, he released my hand.

"Carlisle, you've been bad." he said in a reproving tone.

"No, we have not." I replied. "Bella is a very perceptive young girl. She put everything together on her own."

"So why not deny it when she confronted you?" Aro asked.

"And cause more of an exposure risk when she started asking the others around town questions." I replied.

"You could've killed her."

"Believe me, it was discussed. However, by the time, she figured it all out, my son, Edward, had fallen in love with her. He was more than willing to fight anyone who tried to hurt her, even a member of his family. So you see the problem?"

"I do but she still needs to be taken care of. She could still expose us."

"I doubt that she would." I argued. "You see, a little over a year ago, Edward decided that it was too dangerous for us to be around her. So he broke her heart and we left. She kept our secret so I don't think she'd ever say anything, not even in revenge."

"Still, Carlisle, you know we can't take chances." Aro stated.

This wasn't going at all the way I wanted it to. I was hoping that Kyle's powers would distract him from Bella. Of course, exposure has always been an issue for Aro. I suppose I had to make Kyle seem like an exposure risk. That shouldn't be to hard.

"Look, I didn't come here to debate about Bella." I stated. "I came because I think Kyle may be a greater exposure risk than any one human."

"What makes you believe that?" Aro asked politely.

"You've seen my memories of Roxanne's account of what he did to her. He's done that to countless other girls and doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon. What happens if one of the girls escapes and goes tp the police? There'd be an investigation and god knows what else. And if the found him, it be like the Salem Witch Trials all over again. I need your help to stop him." I explained.

"But what makes you think I can help?" he questioned.

"Because, as you've seen, his power is the same as Peter's was." I stated. I knew I didn't have to saw more. "You had your guard destroy Peter and I have to know how, so my family and I can take care of Kyle."

Aro stood silent for a moment thinking back.

"Jane, wasn't it your plan?" he finally asked.

"Yes, master it was." Jane replied.

"Would you please tell us about it?"

"Of course, it wasn't as hard as you'd think. I simply drastracted him by saying that I was here against my will and ask him to take me with him. He was so worried about getting me out without getting caught. That he wasn't expecting Felix and the others to attack the minute we reached the street." Jane explained. "By distracting him, we were able to sneak attack him before he had a chance to use any of his abilities. The whole thing took two seconds."

I inwardly cringed at how carefree that she talked about killing another creature. An inoccent one at that but then again, Jane had always been the most sadistic of all of them.

"So that's it." I stated. "Just distract and ambush."

"Yes." Jane replied.

"Thank you." I stated. Wanting to leave quickly and still be polite I added, "I suppose I should go now. The family had to split up to investigate the Kyle situation. I want us to get back togather quickly, for Bella's sake."

"Of course," Aro stated. "Jane and Felix will show you out."

Jane and Felix headed toward the tunnel and I turned to follow.

"And Carlisle," Aro called me back. "We'll be in touh about Bella. She's still an exposure risk and must be dealt with."

"Of course." I stated. "But I must warn you, if any of you try to hurt her, my family and I will fight for her." I added not sure it would help.

"That will be taken into consideration." Aro replied.

Not all together reassured, I followed Jane and Felix through the tunnel and onto the streets of Volterra.

**BELLA**

I fell asleep in Edward's arms shortly after the family meeting. When I woke up the next morning, I was in my bed with Edward laying next to me. I was shocked to hear abosolutely no sounds in the house except our breathing. I turned so I was staring into Edward's beautiful golden eyes.

"Good morning." I whispered.

"Good morning, love." he replied. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes." I said. "No visitors."

"Good." he whispered and kissed my forehead. I found it was the little things like this that I missed the most.

"Where's everyone?" I asked unable to ignore the quiet.

"Well, thanks to our over abundance of money, last minute flights were arrange for last night. Esme called a couple hours ago to let us know that they were in Denali. I actually just got off the phone with Alice. She and Jasper are still in the air but the should arrive at their destination by noon. And Carlisle couldn't get a flight without any layovers so he won't be in Volterra until later." Edward explained. "Roxanne is in her room going though her more vivid human memories, trying to find anything else that may help us find Kyle. And Emmett is out guarding the perimeter from Kyle. I have to call him and let him know you're awake."

I suddenly felt guilt in the pit of my stomach. Here they were again wasting their time, money, and energy on trying to keep me safe. It felt like they spent all of their time doing that. I didn't feel worthy of any of that. It seemed that the only thing I contributed to this family was danger. I considered leaving and letting Kyle have me but I couldn't do that to Edward. Not after everything he'd done for me. I looked down at the blankets to embarrassed to look Edward in the face. I felt his finger slide underneath my chin and lift it until I was looking at him.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"I'm sorry I'm such a burden to your family." I said near tears.

"Burden?" he questioned. "Where'd you get that idea?"

"Well, you guys are once again wasting your time, money, and energy to protect me." I stated. "It just doesn't seem like something you should have to do."

"Bella, I told you, we do this because we want not because we have to. We are very well aware that we could throw you out and make you deal with Kyle by yourself. But that's not we we want. We want you to be safe and happy."

"But it seems like you spend most of your time trying to make me safe and happy." I stated.

"And that's fine with us. Bella, you are family to us and you have been since Alice had her first vision about you. And we protect our family, no matter what the cost. We know that you are unable to protect yourself the way the rest of us can. Which is why we put so much more effort into protecting you. We love you Bella and nothing anyone says or does will stop us from loving and protecting you." Edward explained.

Feeling a little better, I snuggled closer to Edward who pulled me closer to himself. We laid like that for a few minutes before he kissed the top of my head and sighed.

"As much as I want to sit like this forever, you need to get ready. We have to meet with the wolves in a couple hours."

"Oh." I said. I had completely forgotten that Carlisle wanted Edward to inform them of our newest developments.

"If you don't want to go, I can have Emmett and Roxy stay with you." Edward stated. "And I'kll just go alone."

"No." I said. "You shouldn't go by yourself. It's not safe. We don't know how far Kyle would go to get me. Besides, I have to get used to seeing them on these kinds of terms, right?"

Edward nodded.

"Okay, then, go take your human minute for the day and I'll go make you breakfast."

"Should I be scared."

"Bella, I've been alive for over a century. I think I've seen at least one cooking show." he stated.

I giggled as crawled out of bed. He was already out the door by the time I was able to stand. Stupid vampire.

**TWO HOURS LATER....**

I was on Edward's back and we were running to meet the wolves. There were already there when we arrived. Sam and Jacob were standing in the front with Quil, Embry, Paul, and Jared lined up behind them. We stopped a few feet from them. Edward pulled me gently from his back and set me on my feet. He kept a hold of my hand. Roxanne stood on my left with Emmett next to her.

I took in the faces of my brothers. The smiled and waved at me. I smiled back. I noticed Jacob was staring at the ground. I knew being here was hurting him too. I hated myself for flaunting my relationship with Edward but if it wasn't for his hand in mine, I'd be an emotional wreck right now. Besides, I knew Alyssa was waiting in La Push to offer him the comfort that he needed. Sam stared at us for a minute, shocked that we were only half of our usual number.

"Where's Dr. Cullen and the others?" Sam asked.

"We've had some new developments on the Kyle thing." Edward explained. "And they've had to go check on our new theories. Carlisle asked me to come here and speak on behalf of himself and the whole family."

"You have the floor." Sam stated.

"First, we wanted to give you an update on the situation." Edward continued. "For some reason we are unable to track Kyle in anyway. We know he has to be close by but I can't get a read on his thoughts, Jasper can't catch any strange emotions, and Alice can't see Bella's future because it's too closely related to what Kyle decides to do. And we know you guys haven't been able to catch his scent either. We've decided it's best to just look for him in the normal human way. Carlisle asks that you guys keep an extra eye out for him. He says that you can extend you patrol into our territory, if necessary."

"Well, see what we can do there." Sam stated.

"Carlisle also wanted you to know about his abilities so you aren't caught off guard." Edward went on. "We think that he's able to steal abilities from other vampires so we aren't sure exactly how many he has. Roxy has been kind enough to inform us of the ones she knows. Carlisle would like you to have that information too."

Sam made sure the others were paying close attention as Edward went through everything we knew Kyle was capable of.

"Also, the entire family implores that if you do find him, let us know immediately. Don't go after him. We don't want you to put yourselves in unnecessary danger."

"We appreciate you concern." Sam stated. "But it is our job to protect our tribe and any other inoccent humans from the threat of vampires. And that;s exactly what we'll do if we find Kyle. We won't stop until he's destroyed."

"That's your choice." Edward said knowing he wasn't going to win the fight. "Finally, we must ask a favor, and we're willing to beg for this one."

Sam nodded for him to continue.

"Our kind only have one rule, keep the secret and we have a coven that makes sure this rule is obeyed. Whenever a human finds out about us they either dispose of them or change them depending on what the have to offer. They don't know about Bella yet." I could feel his hand starting to shake in mine. "But Carlisle had to go to them for help and won't be able to get away without telling them about her. And they'll have to follow their own rules. Carlisle's sure he can convince them just to turn her but we need your permission to do that." Edward stated his voice cracking. "If you don't agree then they will kill her. And you have no idea how sadistic this coven is. If the decided to kill her, it will be in the slowest most digust and painful way possible. I know you don't want that. If you agree, we're willing to do anything you want us to. If you want me to do it in front of her to make sure I don't kill her fine." His voice shook so bad that I knew he'd be crying right now if he could. I never heard Edward like this before. "Please, let us do this? It could be the only way to save her."

Sam looked at the ground for a moment after Edward's speech. I kept my eyes on him wondering what he'd decide. Finally, he looked into my eyes, I could see a war raging in them. He couldn't decide between saving my life and upholding the treated. I stared imploringly, begging him to give his permission. It would be the ultimate big brother thing for him to do.

"Fine, do it." Sam answered after what seemed like forever. "But if you kill her, Cullen, I'll kill you."

"If I kill her, I won't stop you." Edward replied.

"Is there anything else?" Sam inquired. Edward shook his head. I, however, found my voice.

"If you find Kyle, please be careful. I don't want any of you to die because of me." My voice was shaking with emotion as I said this.

"Don't worry Bells." Jacob said looking up from the ground for the first time. "We know what we're doing. You just take care of yourself."

With that, the pack disappeared into the trees. I couldn't hold my emotions back anymore. I sobbed into Edward's shirt as he held me. I hated that both of my families were risking their lives to protect me. I didn't understand why I was such a good target for sadistic vampires.

Edward stroked my hair and whispered comforting words. He kept telling me that everything was going to be okay. I found myself wishing I could believe him.

**A/N: OKay, so the part in Volterra. I'm not sue how getting to see Aro works so just go with that. I also hope you are grabbing at my little hits for the potantial part three. Also, I not sure if they've had the Bella thinking she's a burden conversation but it seemed like a good place for another. Besides, it's more like Bella to need it more than once. Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed. Please review and keep voting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Only a few more chapters to go. **


	15. Jacob and Alyssa

**A/N: So this is a special chapter. I wasn't going to do much with this but I've had a few request to do some more with Jacob and his imrpintee. It took me a bit to figure out something that would click with what's happening to Bella but I've done it. So for all those who requested more Jacob, here you go. I hope you enjoy. **

**JACOB**

After we left Bella and the bloodsuckers, Sam ordered us to reconvene in our usual meeting place. I was gald of this because I had a few choice things to say to Sam. Once we were all reassembled, I crossed my arms over my chest and shot Sam a murderous look.

"What the hell was that?" I yelled. "Why in God's name would you give him permission to bite her?!"

He stared back at me calmly.

"Because it was that or letting her be killed." he finally replied. "I couldn't let her die. Not if I could stop it."

"But how do you know if he was even telling the truth?!" I shot back. "He could've just been trying to trick you into letting him bite her!"

"I know he was telling the truth because of something Bella told me." Sam stated. "She said that before he left, she wanted nothing more than to be one of them but Edward didn't want that existence for her. They fought about it for months. If he's willing to turn her now, then her life must be in danger."

"But she could still die!" I yelled trying hard to control myself. "What if he loses control and kills her?"

"Then he'll die too. That's something all of us agree on."

"But it won't bring her back!"

"Look, regardless of the risks, it's what Bella wants so just leave it alone, Jake!"

"How do you know that's what she wants? Maybe she wanted it then but we can't be sure now!"

"I saw it in her eyes, Jake! Something, you would've seen if you actually looked at her!"

"But..." I trailed off unable to find antoher suitable arguement.

"Now, I didn't call this meeting so we could discuss Bella's future. Those decisions have been made and nothing is going to change them. I wanted to talk with you guys about everything we just found out." Sam stated. "Now, I hope you were all paying attention when Edward went over Kyle's known abilities. Keep in mind that he could have more that we don't know about. As I've told Edward, our job is to protect our tribe and any other inoccent human from vampire threats. However, I do not want any of you to confront him one on one. If you find him then follow just watch him and report back to us. If their happens to be two of you then only confront him if you don't have any other choice. This is one I want to be able to take down together, I don't want any of you getting hurt or killed."

I listened carefully and nodded with the others.

"As for extending our lines, I agree with them, I think that would be beneficial for both sides. That way we can give Bella better protection." Sam continued. "Unfortunately, that means all of us will have to begin our shifts a couple hours earlier and end them a couple hours later. The next couple weeks are going to be exhausting. I'm sorry for that but we need to get rid of this leech before he has a chance to hurt too many inoccents."

We nodded as Sam finished his speech. None of us complained about the extra time. We just wanted to keep Bella and the rest of the humans safe.

"Any questions?" Sam asked.

"What do we do about the Cullens?" Jared asked.

"Don't get in their way but help them with whatever they need." Sam stated. "The rules of our Bella truce still apply. After all, we all just wanna keep Bella safe. Anything else?" Sam paused for a minute but no one else said anything. "Okay, then I want all of you to go home and get some rest. I want you all to be as alert as possible these next couple weeks."

After Sam dismissed us, I ran into the trees, removed my shorts and phased. I ran feeling the wonderful freedom it gave me. When I reached the edge of the trees, I phased back putting my shorts back on and headed home. As my house came into view, I noticed Alyssa sitting on the porch, waiting for me.

_"Damn it!" _I cursed to myself.

The unexpected meeting with the Cullens made me completely forget that I was going to spend the day with her. She looked up and smiled when I was a few feet away from her. My heart just melted. I couldn't believe that I'd only known her for a week and she was already doing this to me. My emotions made it so hard to figure out what was real and what was the imprint. I supposed though that it was all real and the imprint just made us aware of it. I still found it completely crazy how in love I was with her already.

Sam was right. I don't know how I even thought I could fight this. It was like my whole world revolved around Alyssa. She awoke so many feelings in me that I didn't even know I was capable of. As much as I loved Bella, she just didn't have what Alyssa did. I couldn't even describe my feelings for the beautiful woman sitting on the proch.

"I'm so sorry Lys." I said. Lys was the nickname I gave her. I thought Aly was way too ordinary for an extraordinary person like her. "Sam called this morning and said we had to meet with the Cullens. There's a dangerous vampire in town right now. And we're all trying to figure out how to destroy him. The Cullens had some new information for us."

"I understand." she said.

She try very hard to sound like it didn't bother her but I could hear the hurt in her voice. It was interesting how much more it hurt to have to stand her up for pack business than when I had to do it to Bella. I supposed it was just antoher one of the wonderful emotions that comes along with imprinting.

I sat down next to her and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. She responded by laying her head on my shoulder.

"We could do something now, if you like." I told her. "I'm all yours until eight."

She lifted her heads off mny shoulder and looked very hurt.

"I thought your patrol didn't start until ten?" she questioned.

"Well, you see, the new leech is targetting Bella. That's why the Cullens need our help. They've asked us to extend our lines so we can all keep on better eye on her." I explained. "We agreed but Bella means as much to us as she does to them. But the hitch is we all have to put in extra patrol hours."

Her face turned from hurt to anger and she stood. I didn't understand why she was suddenly angry but I wanted with all my heart to make it better.

"I suppose I should just leave then. I wouldn't want anything to happen to your precious Bella because you fell asleep on the job." she said her voice dripping with vemon.

I found myself as angry as she was as she started to walk away. I grabbed her wrist with more force than I intended too.

"What is that supposed to me?" I questioned.

"OW! Jake, you're hurting me. Let go!" she stated.

I released her hand as if it burned me. I took a few deep breaths to keep my anger under control. I didn't want to have an accident like Sam's.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. "But I don't understand why you're so upset."

"Because Jake, I know it's only been a week but usually when someone starts a new relationship, that means they're over the previous one! But here you are running around risking your life for hers!"

"It's my job, Lys!" I tried to make her understand. "It would be the same if it wasn't Bella!"

"Just answer me one question before I go, Jake! Do you still lover her?"

I knew what she wanted to hear but I knew I'd be unable to lie to her. The truth was probably the best way to go in this conversation anyway.

"Yes, I do." I answered looking at the ground.

She looked even more hurt and angry as she turned to leave again. I grabbed her wrist, a little more gently this time, and pulled her back to me.

"Wait," I said. "Please let me explain."

She stared at me to indicate that she was listening.

"Yes, I love Bella. She was my first, everything. I'll probably always love her. I don't wanna see anything bad happen to her."

"Oh, I'm so glad, I hung around for this." she replied acidly as she tried to turn away again.

"But," I stated loudly. "I can live without her." She stopped fighting me again. "I may love Bella but that's nothing compared to the way I feel about you. Love doesn't even begin to cover it. Yes, I'd feel terrible if anything bad happened to Bella but I'd be lost if anything happened to you. My world would come crashing down around me. I can't imagine trying to live the rest of my life without you. I love you more than anything you could possibly imagine."

I finished my speech and she looked down ashamed of her anger. I took my free hand and lifted her chin until her eyes met mine. I, then, brought my lips crashing down on hers. She kissed me back slipping her tongue into my mouth. I released her wrist and she twined her fingers in my hair. I wrapped my arms around her petite body, pulling her closer to me. She deepened the kiss and we stayed like that until our need to breathe won out.

When we finally pulled apart, she rested her head on my chest, letting her arms wrap around my neck. I left my arms around her waist and rested my chin on her head.

"I love you." she whispered. "And I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, love." I told her. "I know how hard this must be for you. You just have to understand that I still care for Bella a lot. She's very important to me. Nowhere new as important as you are. But I'm always going to want to help her when I can. I don't want you getting upset about it because I'll always be coming home to you. Okay?"

"Okay." she replied and I kissed the top of her head.

"So do you want to do something now. We could go for a walk along the beach or drive out to Port Angeles for a movie." I suggested.

"No." she replied. "You really should get some rest. I don't want anything to happen to you because you've spent more of your free time with me than resting."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

She pulled away from me only to kiss me again. I wasn't that eager to let her go and kept pulling her back for more. She just giggled. After a fifteen minute goodbye, I finally let her walk away. As I watched her go, I let out a frustrated sigh.

I was beginning to understand exactly why Sam handled the situation between the three of us the way he did. If Alyssa was getting this upset because I was putting so much effort into protecting Bella, how would she feel if Bella and I were hanging out all the time? Even if it was completely inoccent.

On the other hand, I couldn't help thinking about the little bit I saw of Bella at the meeting. The pain in her eyes killed me. Which is why I couldn't look in them for more than those first few seconds. And the way she clung to the bloodsuckers hand. It was as if he was keeping her strong. Was she that upset with having to stay away from us? Or was it something else?

I knew I felt horrible about the way things were left. When I broke up with her, it all ended in a shouting match and anger. Then Sam asked her to stay away from La Push and me. I didn't want to leave it like that and I didn't think she did either. We both needed closure and a to end things on a better note.

I knew Sam was going to be unhappy about it but I needed to go see Bella tomorrow after my shift. I had to let her know that I still cared about her. I wanted to let her know that I would always be there for her when she needed me. Whether she was human or vampire.

I made up my mind to see her tomorrow, regardless of what Sam said. I needed that conversation as much as she did. Sam would just have to deal with it.

**A/N: I know the end wasn't great. I'm sorry, I just couldn't figure out a decent way to do it. I hope you liked it anyway. I know Alyssa seems like a real bitch but really she's not. Just try to imagine being in her position. It really isn't a nice place to be. I know, I'd be bitchy if I was in that position. Also, I know it seems like their relationship went fast but I'm thinking, the imprint mixed with the hormones speeds things up. I think that's it for tonight. Poll update; It looks like we may be getting a part three. 71% so far!!!! Keep voting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	16. Plans and Theories

**BELLA**

Once I finally clamed down after meeting with the wolves, Edward carried me home. We, along with Roxanne and Emmett, watched movies while we awaited news from the others. Edward wanted to make me dinner but I insisted that a burger and fries would be just fine. I didn't want him to go through anymore trouble than he already was for me.

Esme and Rosalie were the first to arrive back around six o'clock that night. After a long and, for Emmett and Rosalie, PG-13 rated hello, we agreed not to talk about what they found out until the others got back. There was really no point in making them repeat themselves. Instead, Esme and Rosalie updated us on the Denali coven. I was glad to hear that they were all doing well. I hadn't met them yet but I still considered them family because the Cullens did. Esme told us how happy they were to find we had a new memeber of our coven.

Alice and Jasper got back about three hours later. Thankfully, since they were on their mission together, there was no need for the rest of us to cover our eyes while they we being welcomed back. Once again, we did not approach the subject of the information they had gotten from Zafrina. We'd need Carlisle's information to be able to put everything together anyway. So, once again, we were updated on the lives of our other extended family. (A/N: I don't know if they're really that close to the Amazon coven but I wasn't sure how else to phrase it.) Just like with the Denali's, I was glad to hear that they were doing well.

The conversations went off in different directions as we waited for Carlisle. I was forcing myself to stay awake until he made it back. I wanted to know what was the deal with Kyle and his powers. Plus, a nagging part of me was curious and fearful of what the Volturi wanted to do about me. I didn't let Edward know this, of course. He had way too much to worry about. I didn't need to give him something else.

Carlisle finally walked in at a quarter to one. I found that any drowsiness I was feeling before, was gone. After greeting everyone, which was a normal coming home activity for Carlisle, he sat down in the recliner and pinched the bridge of his nose. Esme walked over and sat on the arm next to him. She put her hand on his shoulder. Edward clicked off the T.V. so everyone could put their undivided attention into the conversation.

"Esme, Rosalie," Carlisle said after a minute. "What did Kate have to say?"

"She says that she's only met Kyle once. She introduced him to the rest of the family too." Rosalie answered. "From what she's told us, Kyle's what you think he is and took Kate's power the day he met her. And from what Kate described, I think he got Eleazar's power that day too but I don't know for sure."

"I do." Alice piped up. "From what Zafrina told us, Kyle knew that she had a power and what the power was."

"So you're saying, that he knows which ones of us have gifts and what they are?" Edward questioned.

"It's possible." Carlisle said. "Especially if Eleazar tried to read him that day in Denali."

"So, if he knows our powers then why doesn't he just take them and use them against us?" Edward asked.

"Because, it's classic Kyle." Roxanne stated. "He likes a challenge. He knows that directly confronting the ones with powers and taking them would make it too easy for him to win. So instead, he's playing with Bella and waiting for one of us to let our guard down. Then he'll take her and then your powers when you come to rescue her. That's just how he likes to play it.

"So how do we stop him from winning this one?" Emmett questioned. Everyone looked to Carlisle for the answer to that question.

"According to Jane it's pretty simple, we just have to be able to get close enough to hurt him before he can use his powers against us." Carlisle explained.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Edward asked.

"When the guard destroyed Peter, they used Jane as a distraction. Peter was so focused on her that he didn't sense the others coming before it was too late." Carlisle finished explaining.

A distraction. Well, that was easier. I would just surrender myself. He wanted me so if I gave myself up to him, that would provide enough of a distraction for the others. Kyle wouldn't even see it coming. Especially if I was to make a big deal out of not wanting to put the family in anymore danger. I opened my mouth to voice my idea but Carlisle quickly changed the subject.

"We'll discuss a plan later." He stated.

_"As in when Bella's asleep and we don't have to fight about putting her life at risk." _I thought as I pouted.

"Right now," Carlisle continued. "I would like to know what the wolves had to say about everything." He turned his attention to Edward.

"Sam appreciates us telling him everything we know. He also, apreciates that we are thinking about their safety when asking them not to fight Kyle, however, they refuse to agree to that." Edward explained. He must have heard some of this in Sam's head because I didn't hear the word appreciate come out of Sam's mouth once, let alone twice.

"I didn't think they would but I had try." Carlisle stated.

"He also said that he'd make the changes needed to extend his lines onto our grounds. And he didn't actually say this next part but he thought it. They are willing to help if we are unable to handle this situation on our own." Edward finished.

Carlisle nodded and asked, "What about the other thing that we talked about?"

Edward swallowed hard before he answered.

"Sam agreed to allow me to bite Bella if it is necessary for her to make the transformation." I could hear the sadness in his voice. He looked to Carlisle his eyes begging for some hope. "Will it be necessary?"

"I don't know, Edward." Carlisle replied pinching the bridge of his nose. "I don't know."

My heart started beating a little faster. I only just realized that they could save me from Kyle but then we'd still have the Volturi to deal with. What if the Cullens couldn't save me from them? All of this would be in vain. I didn't want that.

I felt Edward's arm tighten around my shoulder and turned my body into his chest. I buried my face in his shirt. I felt his lips press against the top of my forehead.

"Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you." he whispered.

The family carried on with a plan for what to do about Kyle but I couldn't stay awake any longer. Feeling safe in Edward's embrace, I let my exhaustion take over.

**KYLE**

I watched and listened to the coven from their living room window. They had finally figured out what I was and were trying to make a plan to destroy me. I laughed to myself at how surprised they'd be when I didn't fall for it. Taking the chameleon's (A/N: A vampire that can become invisible in it's surroundings. He could even go as far as smelling like the objects he was blending in with.) power was the best move I'd ever made. I was able to get as close to them as I needed to be without anyone noticing.

They'd have no idea that I was sitting out side their living room window. In fact, Edward had already looked directly at me twice and hadn't noticed a thing. The rest of plan was going to work out better than I thought.

I'd get what I want and there wasn't going to be a thing they could do about it. By the time, they figured out what happened, I'd be long gone with Bella and Roxanne. I had to get a move on though. Roxanne was already to attached to the human. It'd be hard enough to get to her as it was. Of course, I just had to get to her enough to plant the suggestion. Her mind would do the rest. Still, I worried the connection with the human was already too strong.

I'd have to find a way to get to her tonight. The only question was how to get her alone without causing alarm? The good old doctor helped me figure that one out a minute later. They fianlly realized that Bella had fallen asleep. I could've attacked her anytime in the las half hour. And if I wasn't busy trying to foil their plans, I would've.

Carlisle had asked Roxanne and three of the others to guard the perimeter of the house. I laughed. I was already right outside. I could've killed them all right now if I wanted. I just liked my game too much to do it. I was having way too much fun fucking with this human's head. It would be even more to fuck with the rest of her later. With that thought, I followed Roxanne to her post.

**ROXANNE**

I ran back and forth over one forth of the grounds of our house. Bella had been asleep for at least a half hour before we realized it. I was glad Kyle didn't take advantage of our distraction. Bella didn't need to lose more sleep over him. I couldn't wait for the day when we were able to destroy him. I would rip off his cock and chove it done his throat just like he had done to me so many times in those six months. I wanted nothing more than to watch him suffer just like I had suffered for all those months. Just like he was making Bella suffer now.

I heard a twig snap behind me and whipped around to see what had done it. I prayed it wasn't _him._ As bad as I wanted my revenge, I knew Edward was right. I was no where near mentally ready to face Kyle. I knew he could have me eating out of the palm of his hand just like that. All he'd have to do was remind me of those terrible months I had spent in the warehouse. He'd just have to remind of how worthless and pathetic I was. And how he was the only who could ever love me. Then I'd be his again. He knew it and so did I.

_"No!" _I thought to myself. I had to stay strong. I had a family again. A family that needed me to stay strong and help protect our sister. Bella didn't deserve to go through what I did. I wasn't going to give into him or give him a better chance at getting Bella. The Cullens had made me part of their family after only knowing me for a few hours. They already loved and cared so much about me. They were willing to put there lives on the line for me. I wasn't going to let that all go to waste because I was mentally weak. No I'd stand up for myself in front of him.

A dark shadow emerged from the trees. I knew instantly that it was Kyle and sank into an crouch ready to attack. He raised his arms as if in surrender but I wasn't going to let my guard down that easily. I'd already made that mistake once.

"Relax, Rox." he stated. I shuddered at his nickname for me. "I just came to talk."

The sound of his voice caught me off guard. He was using the loving and affectionate voice I hadn't heard in six years. It was the voice that lured me into his trap the first time. Blaming it on the shock, I pulled out of my crouch but still didn't let me guard down.

"So talk." I growled folding my arms over my chest.

"I've been curious. Why are you working so hard to protect this human? You've only known her for like a week and a half. That's not enough time to form a good bond with anyone." Kyle said. "Besides, she just another human."

"And that's exactly why I'm doing it." I answered. "Because she's just as defenseless and vulnerable as I used to be. I don't want to see her hurt the way I was. She doesn't deserve that."

"Not even after she stole away your first chance for happiness since me?" he countered.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I spat.

"Edward, of course." he replied. "You know in your heart the emotions were more than you expressed to him. You could've loved him and he would've eventually loved you but then that little bitch came back. That ruined it all."

He hit a nerve. His assessment of my feelings for Edward was dead on. I did think that I could eventually love him but I knew what he felt for Bella. I knew going into the relationship with him that it was always possible for him to leave me for her. Did that mean I hated Bella for going back to him?

Hell, no. Bella and Edward's love was one of those that transcended time. I went into the relationship knowing it was only a matter of time before Bella's heart won out over her fears. Yes, it happened sooner than I would have liked but I knew it was coming. And yes it hurt but it was no reason to hate an inoccent human. The two couldn't help that they loved each other.

I was about to tell him all of this but he cut me off.

"But if you bring her to me, your problems would be solved and we'd both get what we wanted. I get Bella and you'd get Edward. It's a win-win situation here." he stated.

I snorted.

"Did you just listen to yourself?" I laughed out. "First of all, I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't let me go when you got what you wanted. And in the off chance that I got away, Edward would end up hating me for handing Bella over to you. And that would defeat the whole purpose of my doing what you asked."

Kyle just laughed.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to get her myself, won't I?" he said between chuckles.

"If you go anywhere near her, my family and I will tear you limb from limb." I snarled.

"You'd have to find my first babe." he laughed. "Have you already forgotten? I always get what I want."

With a final smirk, he disappeared into the trees.

**KYLE**

_"Damn it!" _I cursed to myself as I ran. I had thought for sure that I could get her. I knew her feelings for Edward ran a lot deeper than what she was letting on. I, however, had no idea he friendship with Bella had grown strong enough to override her feelings for Edward.

I had really wanted them both. If only to just remind Roxanne of her place. Then again, I could still have a lot of fun with just the human. The only question was how to get her alone?

Before I had a chance to ponder things any further, the world's most disgusting smell. Wolf. Bella's wolf, by the smell of it. He could possibly be the key. She still trusted him even after how it ended. Maybe I could use him to get her alone. It was worth a shot. I decided to spend the night tailing him.

**A/N: Well, what do you think? I wasn't going to do anymore from Kyle's P.O.V. but I thought for some of this you needed to see it from his side. Also, I hope the whole chameleon thing doesn't sound stupid. It was the only thing I could think of that would make him untraceable. Poll update for tonight: 80% for a part three. Keep voting!!!!!!!!!! I hope you enjoyed and please review. **


	17. Bella and Jacob

**A/N: Not much I can say before we start this one. I was sad that I only got two reviews for my last chapter. Am I getting that boring? Hopefully, after this chapter the reviews will pick back up. **

**JACOB**

I patroled from eight o'clock at night until four o'clock in the morning. It was hard to spend those eight hours not thinking about what I was going to say to Bella. I knew the others would hear and Sam would find out. He'd probably go alpha on me and ordered me not to go. He wouldn't have understood. Bella and I needed this. If I was ever going to be able to truly be happy with Alyssa, I had to make sure Bella didn't hate me.

When Jared came to relieve me, I went home to get a few more hours of sleep before going to see Bella. The entire run home felt off. I had the feeling something was following me but whenever I turned around nothing was there. I couldn't even smell anything. I waved it off as paranoia. Billy was asleep when I finally got home, so I just crawled into bed without bothering him. I slept until nine thirty that morning.

Billy was still asleep then. I was glad for that because then I didn't have to gon through the trouble of lying to his face. I knew if I told the truth, he'd tell Sam and I'd be stopped but I had to do this. I grabbed a pencil and some paper and scribbled a note. I told him that I needed to go for a drive to clear my head and I didn't know when I be back.

I drove the speed limit through Forks. Normally, I'd go at least ten over but I still wasn't exactly sure what I'd say to her. I was trying to give myself more time to think. Once again, I got the feeling that I was being watched but I couldn't see anyone or catch a scent. I, once again, shrugged it off as paranoia. Looking back, a hour later, I wished I would've paid more attention to it.

All too soon, I was pulling into the Cullens' drive. I still hadn't completely thought through everything I was going to say. Slowly, I got out of the car and headed to the door. Before I even reached it, Edward had pulled it open. I could tell he was very angry but I wasn't afraid of a stupid bloodsucker.

"I thought you weren't supposed to come here?" Edward growled.

"No, the treaty says that Bella can't come to La Push but it didn't say anything about me coming here." I started standing directly in front of him.

"Well, I don't want you to be here." he stated. "You've hurt her too much already!"

"Look, I'm sorry for what I had to do." I stated. "It's not like I asked for any of that to happen. I was perfectly happy with Bella. It's not my fault I'm stuck with this curse. But I really need to talk to her."

"And why is that?"

"Because I don't like the way things ended. We were both really angry. I said somethings that upset her and I just need the chance to tell her that I'm sorry. I need her to know how I still feel about her. Please, just let me talk to her."

I couldn't believe I was practically begging him. Yet, if it got him to let me talk to Bella, I'd get on my hands and knees. Edward chuckled.

"As much as I'd like to see that." he said. "I'll tell her you're here and want to talk but if she doesn't want to see you, I won't force her."

"I suppose that's fair." I replied. He stepped out of the doorway so I could come inside.

He disappeared up the stairs before I was even fully in through the door. I shut it and turned to find an empty living room. I heard muffled conversations in other areas of the house so I knew everyone was home. I didn't think any of them wanted to be in the same room as me. Bella came down the stairs a minute later.

"Hi, Jake." she said with a slight shake in her voice.

"Hello, Bella." I replied looking at the floor.

"I thought we weren't supposed to see each other outside of treaty business?" she questioned.

"That's what Sam and the Edlers want. That's not what I want." I stated. "Besides, I needed to see you because there are some things we need to talk about."

"Like what?" she asked.

"I was hoping we could walk?" I said making it sound like a question.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Edward stated coming to stand next to Bella on the stairs. "Under the circumstances, I mean."

I was outraged at the implication of his statement. Did he really think I couldn't protect her? I had already done a better job than him.

"I'm perfectly capable of protecting her from bloodsuckers." I stated. "Or have you forgotten, I stopped the two you left her to deal with on her own."

Edward let out a growl and prepared to attack. I started trembling and had to take a few deep breaths to keep it under control.

"Stop!" Bella yelled. "Jacob, that was uncalled for. And Edward, it's okay. I still trust him with my life, even after everything that's happened."

"Just be careful." Edward said relaxing after a second. "And you dog, if there is one hair out of place on her hand when you come back, I'll rip your throat out."

I rolled my eyes as Bella gave him a peck on the cheek. Once she got down the stairs, she lead me out the back door of the house. It was surrounded by trees and we headed off into them.

"So what's up?" Bella asked.

"First, I want to apologize for what I said in there." I began. This was a lie, of course, but I had already gotten this off to a bad start by making that comment. I wanted to make the slate clean. "I know that he had his reasons for leaving. It was just a little insulting to hear him imply that I couldn't protect you."

"I accept the apology." she responded with a slight blush. "But you have to understand that it's not you. Edward is just so over protective when it comes to me. Especially with another vampire targeting me. He doesn't think I'm safe if I'm out of his sight. Alice has to fight him when she wants to take me out."

I nodded. I could understand his concern. I knew Bella well enough to know what a danger magnet she was. If I was still with her, I'd probably feel the same way about the situation. I know if Alyssa was in this situation, I wouldn't let her go anywhere without me. She was just that important to me. Just like Bella was just that important to Edward. Of course, Bella was very important to me but I knew if it came down to her life or Alyssa's, I'd get Alyssa first then send Edward back for Bella.

"I also wanted to apologize for the things I said the day I broke up with you." I stated. "I know that the Cullens didn't choose their existence either. I actually kind of admire them for not being the monsters their kind are supposed to be." That was a fact I'd never admit to anyone but Bella. "At the same time though, it's in my nature to hate their kind and that makes it easy for me to blame them for all the pain that comes along with the werewolf package."

She looked at me sympathetically and then smiled.

"I understand Jake." Bella said. "I know that you guys only get along for my benefit. I appreciate that, I really do. And I understand about the imprint. It isn't anything you have any control over. I know that you never had any intentions of hurting me. I just want you to be happy. If Alyssa makes you happy, then I'm happy for both of you. I wish you both the very best."

I could see a tear running down her cheek. I wiped it away with my thumb.

"I can't say that I wished I'd never met Alyssa but that wouldn't be true. I'm so glad that she came into my life and I love her with my whole heart and soul. In fact, if their was an emotion greater than love, I would probably describe it as that." I stated and I could see more tears trying to force their way out. "That doesn't mean I don't love you because I do. I always have and always will. Alyssa is my life now, yes, but that doesn't mean you can't be an important part too. I would still do anything for you Bells. I want you to know that I'm still here if you now and always will be if you ever need me. I still want to be your friend, Bells."

"I still wanna be friends too, Jake." she said trying to choke back her tears. "I know we can never be like we were before but we can be somehting different. I still love you too even if I'm back with Edward...."

I stopped listening to her because a new disgusting scent filled my nose. The whole place reeked of the Cullens but this one wasn't theirs. No, I had a feeling that it was Kyle. I felt my body begin to tremble involuntarily and looked back at Bella who looked terrified.

"Run back to the house. Send as many of them as you can. And don't leave until one of us comes back." I said urgently.

"Why?" she asked.

"Just go!" I nearly snarled.

She turned to leave but it was too late. I boy who didn't look much older than sixteen with brown hair and red eyes appeared behind. Before Bella could even move, the man grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. She let out a whimper of pain and fear. He wrapped his hand around her throat and put his lips to her ear.

"Hello, Bella." he whispered. "We meet at last." At those words, I knew this was the bloodsucker, Kyle. She trembled as he nipped at her ear.

"J-j-jake r-r-r-run!" she manged to stutter.

Before I could do anything, Kyle flicked his right hand and I was thrown back into a tree. The last thing I remembered was Bella shouting my name and everything went black.

**A/N: Well, what did you guys think? My next chapter is going to be this scene from Bella's P.O.V. I know you guys hate those but sometimes, I find it helps the reader get a better grasp on each of the characters emotions at certain points. ::Gets Down on Hands and Knees:: Please,Please,Please,Please review!!! **


	18. Fear and Pain

**A/N: So, I was going to make all of you sit through the Jacob/Bella conversation from Bella's P.O.V. but doigetedwardtoo has specifically asked me not too. For this reason, I will not torture you guys too much. It's going to pick up after Kyle had taken her. **

**KYLE**

Getting the wolf to help was easier than I thought it would be. In fact, I didn't even have to do anything. He was, of course, oblivious to me following him. He went straight to the Cullen house the next day and asked Bella to go for a walk with him alone. I couldn't have asked for anything more perfect than that.

I followed them to the woods, just behind the Cullen house and spent ten minutes listening to their sappy conversation. Once Bella had started talking about how much she loved Edward, I couldn't take it anymore. I let me guard drop because I wanted the wolf to see how badly he screwed up.

Once he caught my scent, he started the phasing process and told Bella to run. I wasn't going to let her get away that easy though. I used my vampire speed to get behind her before she could even move. I then twisted her arm behind her back and the whimper she let out excited me. Then just to make sure the wolf didn't do anything stupid, I wrapped my other hand around Bella's throat.

"Hello, meet at last." I whispered give her ear a very gently nibble. She trembled and that made me even more excited.

"J-j-jake r-r-run!" she stuttered near tears.

I, of course, couldn't allow him to get away that quickly. I needed some time to arrange my transportation out of here before the Cullens found out I had her. I needed to be prepared to leave the minute I got their powers. Just in case, I was unable to kill all of them. I released Bella's neck and flicked my wrist in the wolf's direction. He flew backwards and hit a tree falling limply to the ground.

"Jake!" Bella screamed.

I just laughed and flipped her into my arms bridal style. Almost immediately, she began kicking and screaming. It didn't have any effect on me, of course, but it did make her a little harder to carry. As much as I enjoyed watching her futile attempts to get me to release her, her screming was starting to really irritate me. So I using the highest voltage I coul without killing her, I shocked her and she fell limp in my arms.

I took her back to the crypt where we'd be hiding until I got finished with the family. After binding her hands and feet, I laid her on the floor and headed back out to cover our trail. As much as I wanted them to find me. I wanted to have a little fun with Bella first.

**BELLA **

I woke up on a cold hard floor, not quite sure how I got there. My head was throbbing. I tried to sit up but found my hands and feet were bound. I closed my eyes trying to remember how this happened.

That's when it all came back to me. I was talking to Jacob and telling him that I still wannted to be his friend. I was attempting to explain my new relationship with Edward when Jake started trembling and told me to run. I didn't understand why but I turned to go anyway. That's when Kyle appeared and grabbed me. He threw Jake against a tree before he could phase and knocked him unconcious.

Kyle then pick me up and I started kicking and screaming. I was calling Edward's name and pounding my fists against Kyle's chest. He must've gotten irritated because he sent a shock through my body that knocked me unconcious.

I looked around the room trying to process where I was. From the look of things, it was some sort of crypt. There were steel bars with doors all over the place. The one I was enclosed in was shut and probably locked too. Kyle was nowhere to be found. I had a bad feeling he was out preparing for when my family came for me. I gulped and prayed they wouldn't come looking for me. I didn't want any of them to get hurt.

There was a short hallway in front of me and I could see light streaming in from a door above it. From the tone of the light, I knew it was twilight. I sighed, it was Edward's favorite time of day. I choked back a sob as I realized I might never see him again. Suddenly, a blurred shape fell from the door above.

Kyle was standing underneath it. He began walking towards me with a twisted smile on his face. He didn't say anything as he unlocked the door and stepped inside. I gulped unsure of what was about to happen.

"Good, you're awake." he sneered as he circled me like a vulture circling its prey. My heart sped up. It was something I was sure wouldn't go unnoticed. Sure enough, Kyle leaned down and began stroking my hair. I flinched. "Don't worry, my sweet. I won't hurt you too much just yet."

I was too scared to say anything. It was one thing to be alone with him in my dreams. Being face to face with him in real life was a whole new can of worms. I just laid there trying to keep myself calm. I didn't want to tire myself out before I really had to worry. Something was telling me, I need all the strength I could get in the next couple hours. He smirked and stood up.

"Your werewolf friend should be awake by now." he stated. "I imagine he's already told the others that I have you. Of course, _if _they come, it won't do you any good. In fact, I'll be the only one benefitting from the encounter."

I knew that I wasn't the only thing he wanted. He was after Alice's, Edward's, Jasper's, and Roxanne's powers as well. He would do everything in his powers to get them. Then he'd probably be sadistic enough to make me watch while he killed them all. I shuddered at the thought. Kyle let out a small chuckle. I knew I had to try to convince him to leave them alone. I didn't want any of them hurt because of me.

"Just take me and leave them alone." I said. "You have enough powers, you don't need there's too."

He smirked again.

"It's true I have plenty of powers at my disposal but somehow, your little family ended up with the best ones." he stated. "Ones that could truly make a difference in this world. Do you know the things I could accomplish with powers like that? Edward's and Jasper's in particuliar. I wouldn't have to be reduced to kidnapping pathetic humans like you. Oh no, I could manipulate them into coming to me. It would be so much easier to play on their fears if I knew what they were thinking and could manipulate their feelings to my will. Hell, I could even force them to take pleasure from the things I'm doing to them." He walked back over to me and kneeled down. "And you, of course, are going to be my guinea pig when I get their powers. I can just imagine how much fun it will be to make you forget about Edward and scream my name instead." He laughed and stood back up.

"You're a sick bastard." I stated.

He grabbed a fistful of my hair and forced me to look at him.

"Tsk, tsk, Bells." he said. "Looks, like I'm going to have to teach you some manners."

He slammed me into the wall. Before he could do anything else,

"Jacob's the only one who can call me Bells." I stated.

"You belong to me now." he replied spraying spit in my face. "I can call you whatever the hell I please?"

"Burn in hell." I told him.

He backhanded me and I hit the floor hard. The pain seared across my cheek. Kyle let out another chuckle from above.

"Watch your mouth!" he yelled and kicked me in the stomach four times. I gasped for air as he laughed. "This is already more fun than I was anticipating. You're already fighting more than Roxanne did."

"Fuck you." I mananged to gasp still trying to regain my air. He yanked me up by my hair again.

"Unfortunately, I need to eat right now. I have to be strong for when your friends arrive. But if you're still in the mood when I get back, I'd be happy too."

He released my hair but used his telekinses to send me head first into a wall. I got a last glimpse of his sadistic smile before my world faded to black again.

**EDWARD**

It had been over an hour since Bella and Jacob had left for their talk. They hadn't been back yet and Bella hadn't called. I was starting to get worried. I sat on the couch in the living room, staring out the window, waiting for them to emerge from the trees. I had been doing this for about ten minutes now but nobody had come out. I grabbed my cell phone and dialed Bella's. It went straight to voicemail. That was very odd, Bella always had her cell on. Especially at times when she could be in danger.

"Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle, Esme, Roxy." I called through the house. Less than a second later, my family was standing in front of me. "I think something happened to Bella and Jacob. They left an hour ago to talk about what happened but they haven't been back yet. And Bella hasn't called. I tried to call her but her phone's off. She never turns her phone off, ever." I explained coming close to panic.

"Calm down, Edward." Roxanne stated and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure everything's fine. Bella probably didn't want to be interrupted."

"I don't know." I stated. "Something doesn't feel right."

"I'm sure you're just overreacting like you always do when Bella's safety is a concern." Carlisle stated calmly.

"Besides, it's not like Jacob's helpless." Alice put in. "He'll be able to protect her."

"Not if Kyle sneaks up on them." I yelled.

_"I'm sorry." _a voice that wasn't one of my families said in my ear. I whipped around to see a russet color wolf running toward the house. _"I managed to catch his scent but it wasn't soon enough. He grabbed her from behind before I had a chance to stop him."_

"Damn you, Jacob Black!" I growled before running out the door to meet him. "You told me you'd be able to protect her!" I yelled.

He had phased back to human form and put his shorts backl on by the time I reached him.

"I know but he took me by surprise." he explained. "I'm sorry!"

I wrapped my fingers around his throat and cut off his air supply. He reached his hands up in an attempt to pry mine off of him. He may have been just as strong as him but I was driven by something stronger. He let Bella get hurt after he promised he wouldn't. Now, I had to hurt him.

_"Edward!" _Esme seldomly forceful voice sounded in my hand. _"Let him go, now!" _

I growled in the direction of her voice. Jasper and Emmett were suddenly next to me. They mananged to pry me fingers from Jacob's throat and hold me back.

_"Look man, whatever it is, it's not worth breaking the treaty!" _Emmett mentally growled as Jasper tried to calm me.

"He let Kyle get Bella!" I yelled. "He said he'd be able to take care of her."

Emmett's thoughts turned a little darker but he continued to hold me into back. Jasper powers were having an effect, whether or not I wanted them too. I felt myself calmly down.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked Jacob trying to remain calm.

"I caught his scent for like two seconds before he appeared behind Bella. Once he grabbed her, she told me to run but I had no intention of just leaving her." Jacob explained. "But before I could even phase, he had thrown me against a tree with a flick of his wrist and I passed out. I don't know how long it's been."

"Damn it!" I yelled wrenching myself Jasper and Emmett's grip.

I lunged toward Jacob again. How could he let this happen to her? I knew I shouldn't have let her leave with him. What was I thinking? Suddenly, Alice, instead of Jacob was in front of me. I stopped once I realized it was her.

"Stop it, Edward!" she stated. "Yes, Jacob screwed up. I'm sure he acknowledges that but killing him isn't going to help us find her or get her back."

"No but it sure as hell will make me feel better." I growled.

_"Okay, but how would Bella feel if she found out you hurt him?" _she asked me in her mind.

That thought made me stop. Bella still cared about him alot. It wouldn't matter to her that his mistake had caused her pain. As long as he came out of it okay. She'd probably hate me if I hurt him because of his mistake.

"Fine, he can live." I growled taking a step back. "Still, we don't know where they went or even if they're still in Forks. We have no way of finding her."

"I know he's still in Forks." Roxanne stated coming up behind me. "Our family has some of the most unique powers in the supernatural world. He's not going anyway until he gets them."

"But that still doesn't tell us how to find them!" I yelled grabbing at my hair in frustration.

"So let's not go after him, let's make him come to us." Roxanne said with a smile.

"I don't understand." I stated.

"I have a plan."

**A/N: What do you guys think? I hope it turned out okay. This was one of those chapters where I just plopped down and let my fingers do the walking. I'm not quite sure what the plan is, yet. I might end up rearranging it and having them go to Kyle instead. I haven't decided, yet. I like the idea of him having to go to them. I'm just trying to figure out how to get him there. I might use Roxanne or something. I don't know. Well, review, please. And if anyone has any ideas on how they're going to get Kyle to go to them, let me know. You will, of course, recieve credit for your idea if I use it. **


	19. Setting Up The Plan

**A/N: I'mm sorry, I screwed up in the last chapter. It was about midafternoon when Bella woke up. I had forgotten the Bella and Jacob had their talk between ten and eleven. Sorry for the confusion. To avoid confusion in this chapter, the first two parts of this scene happen simaultaneously. The third part happens later on in the day. I hope you guys enjoy this one. BTW: You'll all be happy to know that I figured out Roxanne's plan. **

**ROXANNE**

My family and I sat in the living room discussing my plan. I had Jacob go back to La Push to tell Sam exactly what had happened this morning. I asked Jacob to request some help from the wolves. My plan would never work without them. Thankfully, Jacob came back about three hours after I sent him with the entire pack in tow.

"Thank you for coming." I said once Esme had invited them in.

"There's no way in hell I'm going to let my little sister be killed by a sadistic monster." Sam stated with a rather threatening growl.

Once the pack had sat down on the couch and floor with the exception of Jacob. He began pacing around still apologizing profusely for his screw up. Edward was the only one of us who hadn't let him off the hook yet. I think Edward, just like the rest of us, knew that Jacob completely responsible for this. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to forgive Jacob because of what the mistake had cost all of us.

"Jacob, we know how sorry you are." I stated. "But you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself about this. We need your help to get her back. And you won't be any help if you're still beating yourself up about it."

"Sorry." he said wincing slightly. "So what is the plan?"

"Like I said outside, we start by getting him to bring Bella back to us." I stated.

"How the hell are we gonna convince him to do that?" Emmett questioned.

"That's simple. We offer him a deal." I explained.

"A deal?" Alice asked. "What kind of a deal?"

"I can't say just yet. He could be listening. Just trust me and be prepared when I get back." I explained. I turned to Edward and relayed every detail of the plan to him in my head. _"An hour should be long enough for me to make sure that Kyle is distracted by me. So I want you to tell them everything while I'm gone. That way we can be sure that he isn't over hearing. If I haven't got him in an hour, I'll call." _

Edward nodded that he understood. I turned back to my family and the pack. All of them looked extremely confused but didn't say anything. I had only been family for about two weeks now but they already trusted me with their lives and Bella's. I was grateful for this because I couldn't be positive that this plan would work. For all I knew, we could all die and he'd still have Bella.

I had to stay positive though. I had to belive that this would work because if it didn't, I'd be condemning Bella to torture and eventually death. God only knew what he had done to her by know. We weren't positive how long he had her but we were pretty sure it was over six maybe even seven hours. I shuddered at the timeline.

After a quick goodbye to everyone, I headed out the door in search of Kyle. I hoped he come again when I called.

**BELLA**

I awoke some time later. I wasn't sure exactly how long I had been out. The door above the crypt, no longer had light streaming through, so I assumed that it was in the middle of the night. I tried to reposition myself to see if I was alone but I had difficulty because of my bonds. I soft chuckle from bahind told me what I wanted to know. Kyle was back.

My heart sped up as I heard his footsteps coming towards me. I had no idea what he was going to do and that thought scared the piss out of me. He knelt down beside me putting his lips to my ear.

"Did you sleep well?" he whispered in a mocking tone. I didn't answer. "I do believe I asked you a question, Bells." he continued. "Did you sleep well?"

Once again, I didn't answer. He grabbed me by the hair and yanked my head back so hard he nearly snapped my neck. I let out a shout of fear mixed with surprise. He just chuckled.

"Now Bells," He stated as if he were talking to a five year old. "You are now my toy and you will be for a long time. So you amy as well get used to it. I am your master now and the sooner you accept that the better off we'll both be."

I don't know how but I managed to hulk back my snot and spit it in his face.

"Stupid bitch!" He yelled and backhanded me. I hit the floor again with a bruising force. He leaned down grabbing another bit of my hair and wiped the snot off his face with it. "I suppose, I'm going to have to teach you a little respect."

He was suddenly on top of me. I tried to squirm away but his body weight was too much for me. He smirked as he leaned down to kiss me. I turned my face away but he grabbed my chin forcing me to meet his lips. I closed my eyes trying to fight the tears that were coming. I felt his hand travel underneath my shirt and up to my bra. He started to massage my breast through the outside of the bra. I whimpered into his lips and he smirked against mine. He kisses eventually began to trail down my jaw and to my collar bone.

"Please, don't!" I begged as the tears came of their own accord.

He simply smirked and ripped my shirt open then unclasped my bra. I cursed myself for wearing the front clasp one today. I cringed as he fondled me. He was nowhere near gentle like Jake. I felt horrible for thinking of Jake when I should've been thinking of Edward. It was just that Jake's gentle touch was the only thing I had to compare this torture to.

At some point, he started sucking on my right nipple while his hand traveled to my pants. He unbuttoned them with one hand. He somehow managed to slip them down to my ankles while still sucking my nipple. I wanted to vomit. He released my nipple so he could untie my feet.

He was just about to undo the knot when he stopped. I looked at him relieved but puuzzled at the same time. He simply chuckled.

"You're in luck." he stated. "I think I hear Roxanne calling for me. She's probably going to offer herself up to save you." He chuckled again. "Of course, now that I have you, I'm not going to give you up. I'll continue when I get back."

He pressed his lips to mine one last time and was gone in a flash. I laid their, half naked and freezing, in utter shock for a moment before I broke down completely.

**ROXANNE**

I ran through the woods, yelling Kyle's name. I had no idea where he was hiding Bella. The only thing I could do was run through the places I thought he'd be screaming for him. All the while, I worried about what would happen when he turned up. I knew I wasn't very stable around her mentally or emotionally and I had never been good at lying to him. Hopefully, this time I could make myself do it. Bella's life was riding on him believing what I had to say. God only knew what would happen if he didn't show up where I asked him too.

All too soon, I heard a chuckle behind me. I whipped around to see Kyle standing between two trees with a smirk on his face. My breathing hitched just slightly as I remembered that look. It was the look he had before he hurt someone.

"You do realize that you just interrupted my fun." he said angrily. "And you know how much I hate that. So this better be good?"

"It is." I stated shaking. I knew all to well how much he hated being interrupted when he was playing. I saw many humans, who wondered into the warehouse, die because of it. I took a deep unecessary breath. "My family and I would like to meet with you tomorrow night."

"And why would I want to do that?" Kyle asked.

"Because we wish to negotiate Bella's freedom." I answered my voice shaking slightly.

"And what could you possibly have that I would want in exchange for the human?"

"I think you know."

I notice his ears pricked up at my words. I knew he was considering it. I knew him well enough to know that he would love for us to just hand over our powers to him. It would be like a surrender. Knowing we willingly gave in to him would make the victory so much sweeter for him.

"Where and when?" he questioned.

"At twilight tomorrow." I answered. "There's a little clearing not far from our house. You should be able to track our scent to it. We go there to play baseball when it storms."

"And how do I know that this isn't a trap?"

"Bring Bella. We would never try anything while you were in a position to hurt her. Besides, it'll give us the chance to make sure that she isn't hurt. Because any injury she has will be counted in our negotiations." I explained slyly.

"Fine, but if any of you try anything, I will drain her on the spot." he replied.

"Which is exactly why we won't try anything." I stated matter-of-factly.

"Then we'll be there at twilight." he stated.

"So will we."

I stood there and watched as he became one with the trees. I breathed a sigh of relief. He had actual believed everything I said. I couldn't believe it. I thought he would've been smart enough to realize that he was going to walk into a trap. I couldn't let myself get too excited though. I knew there was always the possibility that he was concoting his own plan.

Trying not to think about the negative, I pulled out my cell and dialed Edward's. I took off towards the trees as I waited for him to answer.

"What's up Roxy?" he asked the minute he picked up.

"We're you able to explain everything?" I asked wanting to make sure everyone was ready.

"Yes." he answered.

"Good. Start getting things set up because he took the bait. I'll be home in a few minutes."

"Okay. Do you know if he's hurt her?"

"I'm sorry Edward, I really don't know." I stated.

"Okay," I could hear the sadness in his voice. "I'll see you when you get back then."

Okay." I sighed and flipped the phone shut.

I hated lying but he didn't need the thoughts of what Kyle was doing distracting him. I prayed that my warning would keep Kyle from hurting her too much tonight.

**A/N: What do you guys think? I know Kyle sounds a bit stupid right now. Bear in mind that he is power hungry. Which means when he hears the possiblility of more power, everything else fades from his brain. Plus, he really doesn't think the Cullens would try anything while Bella's life is in danger. He thinks right, of course. However, he has no idea how far the wolves would go to destroy a vampire. **


	20. Trying to Hold It Together

**A/N: Once again, to avoid confusion, the two parts of this chapter are happening at the same time. Also, I have a qeustion about something I want to do for part three of this series. But being a virgin, I'm not positive if it's even possible. I was hoping one of my readers would be better versed when it comes to sex than I am and could answer my question. If you think you might be able to either comment and tell me or send me a private message. I would really appreciate it if someone could answer this for me. I don't want to write it and then be told that it isn't possible. Anyway on to the story, **

**BELLA**

I laid in the crypt still half naked. The cold air hitting my skin caused me to shiver. I curled myself into a ball the best I could in my bonds but it didn't help very much. I was sobbing at the thoughts of what Kyle nearly did to me. I don't think I had ever been so grateful for Roxanne in the two weeks that I'd known her. I just hoped she wasn't planning to do anything stupid. She didn't need to end up back where I was. She had suffered enough already.

I did hope that she could keep him talking for awhile. The thoughts of his promise to finish when he got back caused me to shiver even more. Trying to keep my mind off of those thoughts, I closed my eyes. Almost instantly, I was with Edward in our meadow. We were laying on the ground and he had his arms wrapped around me. I felt safer now that I was with him.

_I wasn't sure how long we sat there before he pushed himself up and straddled me. He brought his lips to mine. Like always, when he kissed me, I lost control. Locking my arms around his neck to try to hold him there, I deepened the kiss. I expected him to pull away but he continued to kiss me just as passionately. After awhile he moved from my lips to my jawline and then to my neck. _

_"Edward," I breathed. "What are you doing?" _

_"Giving us both what we want." he panted then literally ripped my shirt off. _

_Shocked, I released my hold on his neck as he ripped my bra off as well. He began to roughly massage my left breast. I let out a couple moans of pain. _

_"Edward, I'm not ready for this, yet." I stated. _

_"Come on." he said smirking at me. "You did it with the dog. Let me show you what it's like to be with a real monster." _

_He leaned down and began sucking on my right nipple. I groaned in disgust but felt my body responding to it. It disgusted me even more to know what he was doing was giving me pleasure. I was frozen in shock for a minute but when he removed his lips from my breast, my brain caught up with me. I took my right hand and slapped him across the face. I cried out in pain, having done more damage to myself than to him. _

_"That wasn't very nice." he said as he grabbed both my wrists and pinned them to the ground with one hand. Then he took my other nipple into his mouth. I let out another whimper which was meant by a muffled chuckle. He continued to lick, kiss, and suck on my upper body as I struggled and begged for him to stop. When he released my hands to undo my pants, I reached up and attempted to scratch his face. My nails didn't even come close to penetrating his granite skin. _

_He let out a growl and viciously grabbed my wrists again. This time he slammed the back to the ground. I cried out from the pain of the impact. _

_"Now, __**DON'T**_ _move them again. I will break them if you do." he growled in a voice I barely recognized. _

_Too scared of this new Edward, I didn't move my arms again. However, I wasn't about to just lay there and take it. I began to move my hips trying to throw him off of me. It, of course, had no effect. He was able to unbutton my jeans and pull them along with my underwear down to my ankles. He then forced my legs apart and slid two finger into me. I groaned in disgust again but could feel the build up of fluid in my vagina. How could I possibly be enjoying this?_

_"You know," Edward whispered moving his fingers in and out of me. "You're laying there acting like you don't like this but I can feel how much you do." _

_I wanted to vomit but was afraid of what this new Edward would do. I swallowed back the urge as he added a third finger and eventually a fourth. He continued smirking and making vile comments as I begged him to stop. Once he finally pulled his fingers out, he slowly licked my blood and cum off of them. Once again, I had to fight the urge to vomit. _

_Once he finished his fingers, he forced my legs even further apart and put his head between my legs. I felt his tongue push itself between my lips. My body began to convulse in pleasure as he flicked his tongue against my clit. The urge to throw up was becoming harder to fight. He finally pulled his head out from between my legs and began to undo his pants. _

_As he placed the head of his cock at my opening, I closed my eyes and braced myself for his entrance. It never came. Instead, laughter filled the meadow but it wasn't Edward's. It was Kyle's. Curiousity got the better of me and I opened my eyes. _

I was back in the crypt. I was still in my jeans and bra. My shirt was in pieces on the floor. I was sitting against the wall. My neck hurt from sleeping in that position. Kyle was on the ground next to me, laughing.

"You sick fuck!" I yelled trying to force back the tears.

He back handed me and my head connected painfully with the ground. I was surprised I remained concious.

"Watch your mouth, you little bitch!" he yelled.

I pushed myself off the floor with difficulty because of my bonds. I stared into his deep red eyes.

"Are you that much of a coward that you can't even rape a defensless human girl!" I yelled. "You have to make her think that someone she loves is doing it!"

"Hardly." he replied. "I had every intention of taking you myself. That was until I spoke to your little friend. You see, your family wants to trade their powers for your freedom. And they've told me that your condition will effect the negotiations. So I have no choice but to not physically hurt you so I'm guess, I'm just going to have to settle for the mental right now. Of course, your condition isn't going to matter much though. Because I'll end up taking their powers and killing all of them tomorrow anyway. I just wanna see how much they're willing to give for your life."

I had stopped listening to him at that point. I was scared for my family. What were they playing at having Kyle meet them? Surely they knew he would kill them if they gave him the chance. Asking him to negotiate with them was just asking for trouble. She prayed they had a plan and this was all a trap for him. If it wasn't then her family was screwed.

"You know, I've been wondering how you'd react to see Edward turn out to be the monster that he truly is." Kyle stated pulling me back to him. "It was more fun than I thought. The mental thing does have it's possibilities. We could do Jacob later, if you like or maybe even Jasper, Emmett, or Carlisle." he smirked.

"You can't do anything unless I go to sleep. Which I won't?" I stated.

Kyle chuckled and shook his head.

"Bells, Bells, Bells," he said. "I could make you sleep if I really wanted to but it might be fun to see how well you hold up. Just remember I'm not going anywhere and I don't ever sleep. Besides, we have until twilight tomorrow and if I don't get you then, they'll be plenty of other oportunities. Though, I am interested to see how far you could make it without sleep."

Ignoring Kyle, I leaned back against the wall and stared straight at the wall. Not sleeping suddenly felt the hardest thing to do.

**ROXANNE**

As I ran to the house, I heard my family and the pack having their own sperated conversations with each other. However, the minute I stepped into the house, everyone was right in front of me. I could see the questions on all of their faces.

"As Edward probably already told you," I stated. "He'll be in the clearing at twilight tomorrow. Now, I'm sure Edward has already explained the plan." Everyone nodded. "Good. I just wanna go over things before we call it a night."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Edward asked. "We can't be sure he isn't listening."

"I'm sure he's not." I answered. "He's gone back to Bella to brag about how he's going to get the better of us tomorrow." Edward raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Okay, Sam I want you and your boys to be in your places..."

"Far enough away where he can't catch our scent but close enough to hear the signal." Sam finished.

"Yes. And Carlisle, you'll be in the front of our group doing the talking." I continued. "Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett will be in the back. I want you guys to act as naturally as possible but be prepared to attack in case something goes wrong. Jacob, you will be behind Carlisle. Your scent will help confuse Kyle. I need you to be act natural as well but be prepared to phase at the signal because the second Kyle realizes the others are there, you have to get Bella as far from him as possible as quickly as possible."

Jacob nodded.

"As for myself, Edward, Jasper, and Alice. We will be behind Jacob. It is imperative that none of us use our powers unless it is absolutely necessary. Edward, yours will be the easiest to give him. You could do it by accident. I want you to focus your thoughts on mine the entire time. Don't worry about anyone else. Take your insrtuctions from me." Edward nodded. "Alice, I'm not sure how his stealing your power will work. So I don't want you looking for the outcome of tomorrow fight." Alice nodded with a strained look on her face. I knew she hated going into something this important blind. "And Jasper, you can't use your power on Bella. No matter how scared she is. she'll be too close to Kyle for that. You might slip." Jasper nodded as well. "Besides, we're going to need you to do anger control on our side anyway."

"What do you mean?" Jasper asked.

"It's possible that he will bring Bella back in less than perfect condition. She may be battered and bruised. He may say and do things to her to provoke us into using our powers on him. It is imperative to the plan that we all keep our tempers in check and not do anything irrational. Jasper, you'll need to pay specific attention to Edward and Jacob. You have to keep them as calm as possible until the fight starts." Jasper nodded. "I know it's going to be hard for us to watch Bella in pain but it won't do her any good if we lose our tempers prematurely and mess up the plan. So I want everyone's word that you will not let your anger get the best of you."

Everyone agreed to that.

"Sam, on your way back to La Push, could you take the boys on a walk through the clearing. The older trail will confuse him a little if he happens to catch the newer one." I stated.

"No problem." Sam replied as he lead the boys out the door.

Once the were gone, I turned back to the family.

"I think we should all go hunting tonight." I stated. "We'll need to be as strong as possible tomorrow." The family agreed with me and started heading for the door. "Wait." I called. "There's a possibility that we could cross one of their scents tonight. If that happens, I need a promise that none of you will go after him. You won't stand a chance against him alone and god only knows what he'll do to Bella if someone catches him."

Once everyone, including Edward, promised me they wouldn't go after Bella, we went our seperate ways for our hunt. As I distractedly stalked a herd of deer, I prayed everything would go according to plan.

**A/N: I hope you liked. If anyone's confused about Bella's dream, when she first shut her eyes, she was imagining sitting in the meadow with Edward. She ended up falling asleep so Kyle decided to have some fun when he got back. I think that's it. Please review. I love hearing what you have to say. And I don't say it enough but I really appreciate the support from my readers. Especially the ones who have been there since day one of Without You. You guys have no idea what it means to me. **


	21. Hurt Like This

**A/N: Unfortunately, we are coming to the end of part two. The thought makes me extremely sad. This is by far the most favaorite fic I've ever written. I'm going to be sad when I post the final chapter. I really enjoyed writing this one. However, on a happy note, part three is a go. I have an eighty to twenty percent vote on going ahead with it. As well as sercuring permission to use some ideas I got from another fic. But more about that when I get started with it. Until then, let's try to enjoy the end of Hurt Like This. And once again, the different sets of scenes are happening simaultaneously. **

**BELLA**

_I had driven to La Push. I knew I wasn't supposed to go there but I didn't care. Jacob had called and said he needed to talk to me. I found it odd that he didn't want to leave La Push and come to me. Then again, I assumed it would be uncomfortable for him to come to the Cullens' house. So I decided to humor him. I was positive that he'd take the blame if someone caught me. _

_When I pulled the truck up to the house, Jacob was sitting on his porch waiting for me. He had the strangest expression on his face. I couldn't quite describe it. He was smiling but it was twisted, almost evil. It made me want to run right back into my truck and go back to the safety of Edward's embrace. _

_I had to remind myself that Jacob would never hurt me as I continued the walk to him. We may not have been together anymore but he still loved me. And I still trusted him with my life. _

_"Hey Bells!" he yelled. _

_"Hey Jake." I replied replied. "What did you need to talk about?" _

_"Why don't you come inside?" he said. "Billy went to the Clearwaters for dinner so I have the house to myself." _

_"I don't think that's a good idea." I stated. "I don't want Alyssa to catch us in an comprimising position." _

_"Don't be silly. She knows we're still friends." I tried to object again but he grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me along. "Just get your ass in the house." _

_He dragged me all the way to his room. I didn't know what was going on and it scared the hell out of me. This wasn't my Jacob. He wouldn't have dragged me into the house or even put me in a position to get the both of us in trouble. I gulped as he shut his door and the evil smile appeared on his face again. This time I could see the lust in his eyes. Suddenly, I knew exactly what he wanted. And why he wanted me to come to him. This way, Edward wouldn't be able to stop him._

I shook my head unable to believe it. I tried to side step him and make a run for the door but he was too quick for me. He grabbed me around the middle and pulled me back to him. I felt his warm body against mine as he lips brushed my ear. Then I felt the smooth end of a dagger against my throat, I gulped. 

_"Now, we've done this once, Bells." he whispered. "You remember don't you? It could be just as pleasurable for you as the first time or it can be painful. That, of course, is your decision." _

_My mind was spinning. I didn't know what had happened to Jacob to make him want to do this to me. I needed to find away to get away from him and get to Edward. I had a feeling I wasn't going to live if I didn't give him want he wanted. Still, he was stronger and faster than me. There was no way I'd get away but I wasn't just going to lay there and let him hurt me. I kicked my foot back and felt me heel connect with his groin. The dagger fell to the floor with a clatter as Jacob released me and hit the ground grabbing himself._

I made a run for the door but Jacob managed to grab my ankle and trip me. I hit the floor hard, only inches from the door. I tried clawing at the floor to get a hold of something to stop him from pulling me back. It didn't work. 

_He had flipped me over and straddled me before I could stop him. The dagger back at my throat. I could see the pure anger on is face as he caught his breath. I could feel my body trembling underneath him. _

_"I suppose it's going to be painful then." He growled. "I can deal with that. But we're going to take it slow , make it a little more interesting." He smirked. "Now, you are going to do exactly what I tell you or I will slit your throat. Do you understand?" I nodded not trusting myself to speak. Besides, what other choice did I have? "Good, I want you to undress yourself, slowly and it better be good." He climbed off of me but kept the dagger at my throat until I got up. "And don't do anything stupid because you know I'll catch you." _

_I began to slowly undress. I tried to be as seductive as possible but under the circumstances it was nearly impossible. Once I was completely naked, Jacob walked up to me and began running his hands over my body stopping just short of my vaginal area. Then he smirked up at me. _

_"I gave you the choice but you wanted to do things the hard way. That means, you will be pleasuring me today instead of the other way around." He smirked removing his hand. "Now undress me and once you've done that, get on your knees." _

_I did what I was told with shaking hands. He simply stood there smirking at me. Once he too was naked, I dropped to my knees, several feet away from him. He simply walked over to me. He got so close his cock was directly in my face. He shoved it into my mouth. It was so long that he was already going down my throat before he was all the way in. Tears were streaming down my face as I fought hard not to gag. I knew that would only anger him. _

_"Lick it." He ordered in a deadly whisper. _

_I did as he said trying not to throw up. He continued ordering me to do different things to him. I did everything he told me without hesitation. I wasn't sure how long he was in my mouth before his seed spilling out. He pulled himself almost all the way out. _

_"Swallow it!" he ordered. I did as he said trying to keep the bile from rising. He probably would've made me swallow that too if I let it come up. _

_He still didn't remove his cock after I swallowed. In fact, he pushed himself back in. He began moving himself in and out as if there was something more he wanted to let out. I tried to stay steady on my knees as he did this but it was getting harder. After a minute, I felt a warm liquid filling my mouth, it took me a second to realize that he was pissing in my mouth. I had to fight the bile even harder._

_I looked up at him, he smirked and nodded for me to swallow it. I did but found I couldn't control the bile anymore. I pulled away from him and vomitted on the floor. _

When I had emptied my stomach of most of its contents from the last forty eight hours, I registered a few things. The first, I was no longer in Jacob's room and second the room was echoing with Kyle's laughter. My eyes opened as I tried to catch my breath. I was once again int the crypt with Kyle sitting next to me. I looked at the sick bastard and wanted nothing more than to rip his head off.

"Wasn't that fun?" He said once he laughter died out.

"Good to hell!" I breathed.

He backhanded me once again. This time I was ready for it and managed to remain in a sitting position even though my cheek stung with pain.

"How many times do I have to tell you to watch your mouth!" he yelled.

"I don't know. How long will it take for you to realize that I'm never going to listen to you?" I answered.

"You will eventually." He smirked. "I'll make sure of it. I'm a very patient person. I have to give you credit though. You made it through all night and most of the day but I won in the end. That's something you need to learn. I will always win."

"We'll see about that in a few hours." I replied.

"I'm looking forward to it." He stated with a smirk. "Which reminds me. I have to go for a hunt before the meeting. I've got to have all the strength I can get. Maybe, I'll go find one of your little human friends and bring them back here for a little fun beforehand. How do you feel about that? I mean since, I can't hurt you too much right now, I have to get it from something right?" I knew he was taunting me but for some unexpainable reason, I rose to it.

"You keep your hands off of my friends, you sick fuck!" I yelled.

He grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me towards him.

"This is your last warning!" He yelled spraying me with spit. "Watch your gone damn mouth!!!"

He then shoved me face first into my own vomit and left the crypt.

**EDWARD**

I hated this. Kyle had Bella and was doing god only knew what to her and we were sitting here waiting for twilight. I knew in my head that Roxanne's plan was the best way to deal with the situation. My heart, however, wanted nothing more than to track Kyle down myself and tear him limb from limb. I knew it would've been impossible with just one or two of us. Which is what kept Jacob and I from going on our own seperate hunt.

I was still angry with Jacob for letting Kyle get to Bella but I knew it wasn't entirely his fault. Kyle was good at hiding an sneaking around. Everyone one of us knew that. Everyone of us also knew that it could've happened to any one of us. Which is why everyone forgave him so easily. I had forgiven him on the inside but took great pleasure in watching him blame himself.

He was way too cocky for his own good. He needed something like this to show him some humiliation. Which is why I was enjoying how much he was beating himself up. Plus, he was punishing himself enough for the both of us. I just wished that it hadn't have been getting Bella snatched out from right under his nose that taught him this lesson.

I had come home from tour hunt the night before and found myself sitting in Bella's room. I haven't left since. It was just so hard to be here without her. It was so much worse than the near year, we were gone from Forks. At least then I knew she was safe and in one piece. This time, I was still in the same town as her but I had no idea where she was or what was happening to her. That's what was killing me. I had no idea and I couldn't do anything to help her.

I hated not being able to do anything. She was my angel, my everything and it was my job to protect her from things like this. I had failed miserably and now I wasn't sure if I'd ever see her alive again. I mean there was no garuntee that Kyle would keep his end of the deal. Then there was always the possibility of him slaughtering all of us before we could save her. So many things could go wrong with Roxanne's plan. We could all end up dead and Bella would have to spend the rest of her life with a monster.

_"Roxanne says that we should be leaving to head to the clearing soon." _Alice's thoughts intruded on my own as she entered the room. _"We need to make sure that everything and everyone are ready." _I nodded as she looked down at me. "This will work, Edward. We will save her."

"How do you know?" I replied. "For all we know she could be dead by now."

"She isn't." Alice answered. "You know he took her so he could play with her. He wouldn't kill her in less than twenty four hours."

"Yeah, but from everything that Roxy told me, she's better off dead." I stated.

"No, because she'll be back in this bed tonight and Kyle will be dead." Alice said. "We won't let him win and neither will the wolves. We love her too much to let her stay in his hands. Come hell or high water, she will be saved tonight."

"I hope you're right." I answered.

"Trust me." Alice said.

"I do."

"Well, come on. Let's go get her."

She grabbed my hand and pulled me down the stairs.

**BELLA**

It took me awhile but I manged to push myself out of the pile of puke. I also managed to crawl to the pieces of my shirt and wipe the worst of it of my face. I probably would've thrown up some more but there was nothing left in my stomach to force out. I manged to sit back against a different wall and pull my knees up to my chest. I buried my face in them trying not to think about what was going to happen tonight.

I wasn't sure how long I sat like that before I heard a small whimper of fear. I looked up to see Kyle half carrying, half dragging a girl towards the cell. I wasn't sure who she at first because he was blocking her from full view. Her whimpers sounded oddly familiar, though. It wasn't until he unlocked the door and shoved her inside that I realized it was Angela.

"Angie!" I cried and attempted to crawl to her.

"Bella?" she asked looking up from the ground. She crawled to me making things a lot easier. "What's going on? Who is he?" she asked in a panic.

I held onto her the best I could with my bound wrists. I had no idea how to that question. She probably wouldn't have believed me if I could've explained it anyway. Kyle saved me from having to answer.

"A reunion." he smirked "How lovely."

"Just let her go and find someone else." I said.

"Oh, I don't think so." he replied tauntingly as he ripped her out of my grasp by her hair. She cried out in pain. "You see, she smells simply delicious."

Angela let out another whimper as Kyle ran his nose along her neck. I had to something. I couldn't let him hurt her. It was one thing to go after my vampire family who could defend themselves. It was completely different when he went after my human friends who were defenseless.I knew there wasn't much I could do to stop him but I had to try.

"Please." I begged. "Let her go. I'll do anything." I was near tear as I said this.

Angela was still whimpering in his iron tight grasp as he continued to tease her. I couldn't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing that she didn't know what he wanted her for.

"I can't let her go." he stated. "I'm very thirsty right now and don't have time to find another. It took me most of the to find her."

"What's he talking about, Bella?" Angela asked with a whimper.

Once again, I wasn't sure what how to answer. I didn't have the heart to tell her that he wanted her for his next meal.

"Why don't you tell her Bella?" He said in a sickeningly sweet voice. "Don't you think she has a right to know how she's going to die?"

Angela's breathing picked up when he said die. She began to struggle. He just pulled her hair harder and she called out in pain.

"Angie, don't struggle." I stated. "He'll only hurt you worse." She stopped and stared at me.

There was real fear in her eyes and I wished there was something I could do to save her. Even if I wasn't tied up, I was no match for him. He'd have me in pieces before I could even get a hit in. Unable to bear the look in her eyes, I looked tto the floor.

"I'm so sorry." I said in barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry you don't understand what's about to happen. It's probably better that way. And I'm sorry there's nothing I can do to help you." Tears were falling down my cheeks as I stared at the ground. I didn't have the nerve to look her in the eye. "Just do it." I said looking up at Kyle. "No games. She doesn't deserve that."

"As you wish." Kyle replied with a smirk. "But you better be watching because the minute you look away, I play." I nodded and looked directly at them.

Angela was visibly shaking in his grasp. I could see the tear stains on her face. I wished I could've done something then again, I supposed it was better for her to just be his meal. It would've been worse for her if she was in my position. Kyle yanked her head back a little further to expose more of her neck. He planted a gentle kiss on it before sinking his teeth in.

Angela let out a small cry of pain as his teeth pierced her neck. Her body convulsed and shook as he sucked her life from her. I didn't dare look away for fear of what he might do to her. I watched, tears pouring down my cheeks, until her body became lifeless in his hands.

Once he was finished, he threw her body aside and looked at me with a smirk.

"She tasted as good as she smelt." he said before snapping his fingers.

Angela's body burst into flames. I screamed out in surprised. After a minute, he snapped his fingers again and Angela was nothing but a pile of ahes. I pulled my knees back to my chest and cried for my friend. A few minutes later, Kyle grabbed me by the hair and yanked me up.

"It's time to go." He said in my ear before dragging me out of the crypt.

**ROXANNE**

I stood in the clearing with Edward next to me. Everyone, except Jacob, was in their position. We were waiting for him to come and tell us the wolves were ready. I was very worried. There was a good chance that this plan was going to work. I think we all knew it and we were all unsure of what was going to happen. Jasper was trying to keep everyone calm but his own worry was effecting his ability.

I looked over at Edward who looked more worried than any of us. I wished I could've reassured him that everything would be okay but I didn't know how. I didn't want to tell him that it was going to work out because there was a possibility that it wouldn't.

"Don't worry about it." Edward told me. "I know how much you care and how much you want this to work." Before I could respond hae added, "Jacob will be here in a minute. The other five are in position."

"Good." I said. "It's almost time."

Not even a minute later, Jacob emerged from the trees in human form. He took his position behind Carlisle and began to mentally prepare himself for this.

"Edward, start focusing on my mind now." I said. "He'll be here any second."

Edward nodded. I felt the tension in the group rise as twilight fell on the clearing. Sure enough, a second later, Kyle appeared in the trees just inside the clearing. He was holding a tied up Bella by her hair.

She looked terrible. Her face was tear stained and dirty. She had several brusies on her face and her lip was bleeding. She was wearing only her jeans and a lacy black bra. She looked utterly terrified as he dragged her towards us. I heard Edward growl beside me and grabbed his wrist to yank him back if I had to.

_"Calm down." _I thought to him. _"He'll pay for what he's done I promised. _It's show time!" I said out loud to the family. '

**A/N: I'm sorry it's so long today. I had a good few hours and my fingers wanted to do a little extra dancing tonight. I know the part with Angela didn't really do much for the plot but I wasn't getting sick of him hurting her with just the dreams. I think it hit a little closer to home to have it something actually happening. Let me know what you think. I hope you enjoyed it. And I apologize if the dream scene at the beginning was to mcuh for anyone. I don't know why I wanted to do it that way. Anyway, that's it for tonight. I hope you liked. Review and let me know what you think. I live for your feedback. Literally, I check my e-mail every half hour for review alerts. I love to hear what you guys think. **


	22. Finally Over

**EDWARD**

I stood in the clearing with Roxanne next to me. Everyone, except Jacob, was in their position. We were waiting for him to come and tell us the wolves were ready. I was very worried. There was a good chance that this plan wasn't going to work. I think we all knew it and we were all unsure of what was going to happen. Jasper was trying to keep everyone calm but his own worry was effecting his ability.

I looked over at Roxanne and concentrated on her thoughts. She had noticed how worried I looked. She was racking her brain for a way to reassure me that everything would work out. She wanted to tell me that the plan was going to work but knew the was a major possibility that it wouldn't. She felt so horrible that she couldn't give me a garuntee.

"Don't worry about it." I told her. "I know how much you care and how much you want this to work." Before either of us could say anything Jacob's thoughts entered my head,

_"I'm on my way. The boys are all where they're supposed to be. I should meet you guys in a minute." _

"Jacob will be here in a minute. The other five are in position." I informed Roxanne.

"Good." she replied. "It's almost time."

Not even a minute later, Jacob emerged from the trees in human form. He took his position behind Carlisle and began to mentally prepare himself for this.

"Edward, start focusing on my mind now." Roxanne told me. "He'll be here any second."

I nodded. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I felt the tension in the group rise as twilight fell on the clearing. Sure enough, a second later, Kyle appeared in the trees just inside the clearing. He was holding a tied up Bella by her hair. I surpressed a growl at the way he was carelessly dragging her across the field.

She looked terrible. Her face was tear stained and dirty. She had several brusies on her face and her lip was bleeding. She was wearing only her jeans and a lacy black bra. She looked utterly terrified as he dragged her towards us. I couldn't help but growl at her appearance, I wanted nothing more than to tear him apart myself. I felt Roxanne hand close on my wrist to hold me back if she needed to. I closed my eyes trying to calm myself.

_"Calm down."_ Roxanne thought to me. _"He'll pay for what he's done I promise._ It's show time!" She said out loud to the family.

Kyle came to a stop about fifty feet from Carlisle. It took everything I had not to try to get a read on him. I continued to focus on the calming thoughts that Roxanne was sending me. As well as the waves of calm that Jasper was sending me.

He'd get what was coming to him. I just had to be patient. Still, it wasn't easier standing there and not doing anything whille Bella was trembling in his grip. I was vaguely aware that of when Carlisle started speaking.

"Bella, are you alright?" he questioned trying to keep his calm.

"Y-y-yes." Bella stuttered out and I fought the urge to go after him.

"Come on, Bells." Kyle taunted. "Why don't you tell them the truth?"

Bella's shaking increased at his words. Once again, I found myself fighting not to read his thoughts. I wanted desperately to know what he had done to my angel.

_"Keep it under control." _Roxanne's thoughts told me. _"He's just trying to bait us." _

That was easier said than done. It was so hard for him to stand here and do nothing while Bella was still in danger. I heard Jacob's thoughts running along the same lines as mine as he froced himself to remain calm enough not to phase too early. It also made me feel better that my family was struggling with the urge to attack as well.

"Let's just get to the reason why we're here." Carlisle said trying to keep things from getting out of control. "You have something we want and we have a few things that you want. Is there anyway we could negotiate some kind of trade?"

"See there's one problem with that." Kyle stated. "I still want what I already have."

He brushed his lips against Bella's earlobe causing her to flinch. I let out another low growl.

_"Edward, relax, please." _Roxanne thought desperately.

I could hear how difficult this was in her thoughts but she had no idea what I was going through. I was supposed to protect her and I was completely helpless right now. She had no idea what that was doing to me.

"Don't give him anything!" Bella yelled.

"Shut up!" Kyle yelled and yanked her head back.

She let out a small whimper of pain but didn't react in any other way. I felt myself dropping into an attack crouch. I was now ignoring the calming waves the Jasper was sending me. I could hear Jacob mentally debating whether or not to scrap the plan and just attack. Roxanne's hand was the only tthing keeping me from doing just that.

"Bella, you know if it helps you will do it." Carlisle stated.

"But it won't!" she yelled. "He'll just kill you anyway!"

"Stupid slut!" Kyle yelled and shoved her to the ground.

It seemed he had forgotten we were there. He started kicking her in the stomach. Her struggle to get her breath back coupled with her whimpers of pain finally sent me over the edge. I wrenched my arm from Roxanne's grip and went tearing after him. I was vaguely away of my family yelling for me to stop. All I knew was that I had to get her away from him.

I saw a large russet blur almost level with me and knew Jacob must've lost it too. Before I got close enough to get to Bella, I was thrown back to the ground. I hit pretty hard but all that mattered was getting to Bella. I got up to try a different attack until I realized, Bella wasn't there anymore and Kyle was looking like he wanted to rip someone's head off.

I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Jacob had succeeded in his part of the plan. Even if it was prematurely.

**ROXANNE**

I felt so stupid and guilty in that moment. I was so worried about our tempers ruining everything that I forgot to account for Bella. She wouldn't have known that we had no intention of giving him our powers. She wouldn't have known not to say anything about it.

Had she known, she wouldn't have just given away Kyle's plan and pissed him off. I watched helpless as Kyle shoved her to the ground and started kicking her. I felt Edward wrench his hand from my grasp.

"No, Edward!" I yelled trying to catch a hold of his wrist again. He was too fast for me though.

The entire family was yelling for him to stop. They didn't want anything to happen to him or Bella. Things happened fairly quickly after that. I notcied a large russet blur running alongside Edward. I wasn't sure if Jacob too had lost control or if her was trying to save the situation.

Kyle used one of his powers to throw Edward back to the ground hard. He, however wasn't fast enough to get back to Jacob. Jacob managed to get to Bella's side and she crawled onto his back. He took off into the woods before Kyle could figure out what happened. The family breathed a sigh of relief.

Kyle looked back at us with pure rage on his face.

"I'll find her and she'll pay for all of this." he growled as he turned away.

They family had surrounded him before he had even taken two steps.

"If you want her, then you'll have to go through us." I growled.

Kyle laughed.

"That's going to be pretty easy." he said. "I mean, I could take you all down with one swipe of my hand. But you are all helpless. Even the ones of you with powers can't use them against me."

"We'll see about that." I said and leapt at him.

He used his powers to throw me back to the ground but I gave the others a clear chance to get behind him. Unfortunately, he was prepared for a behind attack and used his shock to bring both Rosalie and Emmett to the floor. I noticed Edward try to launch another attack but suddenly, I was plunged into darkness.

I was aware that it was Kyle using his illusions on us but there was nothing I could do to stop it. I called out for any of the others trying not to move to much. No one answered me and I knew they were all stuck in their own darkness and couldn't hear me. I should've been utterly terrified but I wasn't. In fact, I smiled to myself. He was distracted by us. He was so concentrated on using his powers against us that he wouldn't notice an unexpected attack.

"NOW!" I yelled as loud as I could and prayed they could hear me outside the illusion.

I just stood there not moving or talking. I just prayed that the wolves had come. I wasn't sure how long I stood there before I heard the terrible sound of a vampire being ripped apart and my senses came back to me.

We were once again standing in the clearing. My entire family was standing there looking utterly confused. No one appeared to be hurt though. For that, I was grateful. The wolves were there as well. They were standing around a pile of limbs which I assumed were Kyle's.

The family wasted no time in collecting the wood to start the fire. I just stood there though, unsure of how I felt. It was over and he was gone forever. He couldn't hurt me or Bella or any other inoccents ever again. I was relieved yes but at the same time, I felt as if someone had ripped my heart out. I wanted to cry tears of joy and sadness. I just wasn't sure which I wanted more.

Once the fire was started and all of Kyle's limbs were burning, Edward walked over to me.

"How do you feel?" he asked putting his arm around me.

"I don't know." I answered honestly. "I'm relieved but I'm hurting. I didn't think that I'd care the day he met his end. Ande yet, here I am wanting to mourn a monster. How digusting is that?"

"No." Edward stated. "It's not disgusting at all. He was an important part of your life. He was there for him when you needed him. Even if it was for all the wrong reason. You loved him even after all the horrible things he's done. You can't help that fact. Yes, he was a monster but he was also your friend and lover at a time. And it's okay for you to feel sad about losing that part of him."

I nodded.

"I'm glad it's finally over though." I said. "For both Bella and I."

"Speaking of Bella," Emmett said from behind me. "Where'd Jacob take her?"

"La Push." Edward answered for Sam. "Sam's going to have him bring her to our house when they get home."

Carlisle looked meaningfully at the pack.

"Thank you for everything." he told them.

"There's no need. Bella's as much a part of our family as she is yours. We're happy to do anything to protect her." Edward translated.

With that, the pack disappeared into the trees and we headed back to the house to wait for Bella.

**A/N: There you all go. Everyone finally got what they wanted. The arse got what he deserved. I hoped you enjoyed it. I also hope it didn't go too quickly. I'm still working on my fight scenes. I'm not good at the deatails with them. I hoped you enjoyed it all the same. Please review and tell me what you think. **


	23. Waiting and Hoping

**A/N: I had someone ask me why didn't Edward want to go get Bella right away. He did but there are several reasons why he didn't. 1.) He knew he'd have to wait for someone to bring her back from La Push anyway. 2.) He knew she was in good hands with the wolves. 3.) He knew they were just as worried about her as the family was. He wanted to give them some time for a reunion as well. So that's why they didn't go to her right away. Also, I wasn't intending on doing Edward's part of the last chapter from Bella's side but BgirlAngelSpike requested it so I'll see what happens. **

**BELLA**

I cried as Kyle carried me, bridal style, through the woods. I didn't even have the energy to try and fight him off. Plus, I was still reeling about what he had done to Angela. Why did he have to bring her back? Why couldn't it have been Jessica or Lauren? I would've even been semi-okay if it was Mike? Not that I wanted any of them to die but Angela was the sweetest most wonderful person I've ever met. She didn't deserve to be a meal for a vampire.

She deserved to be able to finish college and get married. Maybe even start a family sometime. She was suppose to die old and peacfully in her sleep. It wasn't supposed to be so soon. She wasn't supposed to be afraid or unsure of what was happening. She was supposed to be found and mourned by her parents. Now she was probably going to be reported as missing and nobody would ever find her. Even if they did find the pile ashes on the floor of the crypt, they'd have no way of knowing they belonged to a human, let alone Angela Weber. I couldn't help but feel that it was all my fault. I should've done something to save her.

I was so busy wallowing in my own guilt, I didn't realize that Kyle had put me down until my feet hit the ground. I flinched as he grabbed a bunch of my hair at the roots and began dragging me forward. I looked around and realized we were in the clearing where I'd play baseball with my family. Looking a little further ahead, I saw my family standing there just waiting.

I could tell all of them looked as though they wanted to rip Kyle's head off. I was glad to see they were restraining. Who knew what else Kyle was capable of? I was going to do everything in my power to keep them from getting hurt. Even if it meant I had to spend the rest of my life as Kyle's play thing. I would do it to keep them safe.

I heard a deep low growl as we got closer. Edward was standing there looking torn between sadness and rage. I wanted nothing more than to tell him everything was going to be alright but I knew there was no way it would be. Jacob was a few feet away from him. He looked like he was fighting the urge to phase. I noticed how badly he was trembling. Carlisle was in the front of the group. They were probably going to have him act as mediator. I needed to make sure that they didn't give him anything. I knew what he'd do the minute he got what he wanted.

Edward, Jasper, Roxanne and Alice were standing behind Carlisle. Great. They were absolutely prepared to do this. Did they really think it was going to do any good? The others were further back looking as ready to attack.

Kyle came to a stop about fifty feet from Carlisle. Pulling me roughly to a stop. Not wanting to give the family a reason to attack, I didn't make a sound. Instead, I focused my attention on Edward. He looked like he wanted nothing more than to drag me away from Kyle. I assumed he was trying very hard not to read what Kyle's intentions were. They didn't want to take away any of the leverage they had against him. I noticed Roxanne had her hand wrapped around his wrist like she was holding him back.

As hard as I tried to not show my fear, I was trembling from head to toe. I was worried about what was going to happen right now. I prayed they weren't planning actually giving in to him. I was vaguely aware that Carlisle started speaking.

"Bella, are you alright?" he asked me. I could tell by his voice that it was taking a lot for him to stay calm.

"Y-y-yes." I stuttered out.

"Come on, Bells." Kyle taunted. "Why don't you tell them the truth?"

My shaking increased at his words. I thought about the dreams I was forced to indure of the past twenty four hours and of my inoccent friend who was now a pile of ashes on the floor of the crypt. The truth was, I knew I wasn't anywhere near okay and Kyle knew it. I wouldn't let my family know that truth though. I wasn't going to give them any reason to attack him. At least not until I found a way to keep them from doing exactly what they planned on doing.

"Let's just get to the reason why we're here." Carlisle said trying to keep things from getting out of control. "You have something we want and we have a few things that you want. Is there anyway we could negotiate some kind of trade?"

"See there's one problem with that." Kyle stated. "I still want what I already have."

I felt him brush his lips against my earlobe and couldn't help but flinch. I heard another growl from Edward. I prayed that he wouldn't do anything. I was racking my brain trying to find a way to communicate his intentions to them without Kyle hearing. I knew it was impossible though. So I did the only thing I could think to do,

"Don't give him anything!" I yelled.

"Shut up!" Kyle yelled and yanked my head back further.

I let out a small whimper but wouldn't give him the satisfaction of any other reaction. I had already noticed the whimper was too much because Edward had dropped into a crouch. I could tell how badly he was losing it. I had to keep myself in check. I couldn't let him go after Kyle.

"Bella, you know if it helps you will do it." Carlisle stated.

They obviously didn't get it. He wasn't planning on taking their powers and letting all of us walk away. You'd think Roxanne would've known that. Despite my fear, I found that I was angry at her for leading my family to their slaughter. Did she seriously think that he would just let me walk away? She should've known after everything he went through to get to her. I guessed the needed me to spell it out for them because they obviously weren't getting it now.

"But it won't!" I yelled. "He'll just kill you anyway!"

"Stupid slut!" Kyle yelled and shoved my to the ground.

I think he forgot the others were there. His rage at my giving away his plan seemed to be the dominate emotion. He started kicking my in the stomach. I struggled to get my breath back as he continued to kick me. I was in so much pain that I couldn't hide my whimpers.

I wasn't sure of everything that happened after that. He stopped just as suddenly as he started. The next thing I knew, Jacob, in wolf form, was beside me and I was crawling onto his back the best I could being tied up like I was. Then we were running through the forest and everything went black.

**JACOB **

I forgot about everything else. The only thing that mattered was getting Bella as far away from that sadistic asshole as possible. Sam had told me to ignore the treaty and take her to my house. He'd explain it all to the Elders after everything was over. I could only pray there would be a Sam left when this was all over.

Her body was limp against mine and I had a feeling she had passed out from the shock of the whole ordeal. When I reached the edge of the forest just before my house, I let her slide off of my back and phase back. I quickly untied her and carried her to the house. I hoped Alyssa would be there like she promised. I wasn't sure what Kyle had done to Bella. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable by allowing her to wake up in my bed with me standing over her.

As I approached my house, I noticed Alyssa was holding the front door open for me. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lay her on your bed." Alyssa told me as I walked through the door. "Then get me a shirt to put on her."

I did as she told me to. I watched as she slipped the shirt over Bella's head then laid her gently back on the pillow.

"I don't know what to do now." she stated. "It looks like she maybe in some kind of shock or something. "The best thing to do might be to just let her sleep it off."

I nodded and started pacing. Part of me wanted to run back to the clearing and join my brothers. I knew, however, that I was needed here. I was Bella's last line of defense if Kyle happened to get through the Cullens and my brothers. I screwed up once on my promise to protect her, I wasn't going to do it again.

"Look if you wanna go into the woods and listen to the others, you can." Alyssa told me. "She's safe with me. I won't let anything happen to her."

"Nice try but I won't risk anything happening to you either." I responded. "Besides, Sam said if I haven't heard from anyone in an hour then I should go looking for them. Until then, I'm staying in the house."

Alyssa nodded. I stared down at Bella's unconcious form and coudln't help but shed a few tears. This was all my fault.

"I know what you thinking." Alyssa said. "And it's not your fault. It's not anybody's fault. Except Kyle's."

"But I never should've taken her away from the Cullen house yesterday. She was safest there with all of them. And I'm trained to find, fight, and destroy vampires like Kyle and I couldn't protect my best friend from one."

"Jacob, some things are just meant to happen." she told me. "We can't stop them even if we try. Look at you and I. I know there's a small part of you that still wants to be able to love her and that part of you hates the fact that your destined to be with me." She sounded so sad.

"Lys." I said reaching out to grab her hand. She took and smiled at me.

"Don't say anything. I know that I'll always be your number one but a piece of you is always gonna wonder about what've could've been with her." she stated. "But that's not the point. The point is you and I are destined to be together and nothing and no one can stop that. It's the same with what just happened to Bella. Kyle was going to get his hands on her whether or not you did what you did yesterday. And who knew what would've happened if he attacked the house."

"But she's hurt. I promised her that I'd help keep her safe. And I didn't do that, yesterday." I argued.

"Maybe not but you're did it in the clearing and you're doing it now. Do you think that Bella's gonna care about what happened when she got taken? Because she's not. All she's gonna care about is that you and the ones she loves are safe. And that she's alive. You helped do that. And that's all that matters."

I nodded knowing she was right. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the top of her head. I honestly didn't know what I would do without her. She knew me better than anyone else, even Bella. She always knew exactly what to say and when to say it. I sat down on the foot of the bed and pulled her onto my lap.

We sat there in silence just enjoying the comfort of each other's company for about ten minutes before Bella started stirring.

**BELLA**

I was in a warm bed with a pounding headache. This didn't seem right. The last thing I remembered was being on the ground with Kyle standing over me. I moved around a little to try and assess where I was. I didn't want to make it too obvious that I was awake just in case I was in the worng persons hands. Once I figured out that I was definitely in a bed, curiousity got the better of me and my eyes fluttered open.

There were two people looking down at me. Jacob and some girl that I didn't know. I assumed it was Alyssa by the way he was holding her. Confused, I attempted to sit up but my head was throbbing horribly. I ended up laying it back on the pillows.

"Bella, you're awake!" Jake said excitedly and reached down to embrace me. I flinched away from him. The hurt look on his face as he pulled back broke my heart. "I'm sorry Jake. It's not you."

"It's okay." he said. "How do you feel?"

"Okay, I guess." I replied. "I have a terrible headache."

"That's to be expected. Do you remember what happened?"

"I remember Kyle, the clearing..." I racked my brain for more. I knew I was missing something very important but I couldn't remember what. I closed my eyes trying to remember. That's when it hit me. "The Cullens!" I exclaimed. "What happened to them? Where are they?"

I was starting to panic. There was no way they could fight this battle without losing someone. I couldn't live with myself if one of them died because of me. I had to get up and go back to them. I started to climb out of bed but Alyssa pushed me gently back down.

"You can't go anywhere." Jacob explained.

"I need to be there. Maybe Kyle will leave them alone if I give myself back to him." I said as I tried to get out of the bed again.

Alyssa kept her hands firmly on my chest.

"It's okay Bells." he said and reached out to stroke my hair but thought better of it. "I'm sure their all fine. You have to stay here though. Just until we get the all clear. Then I'll take you back to the Cullens. Okay?"

"But how do you know it's going to be okay? They can't fight him by themselves. I have to go help."

I struggled against Alyssa hold but she was pretty strong for a girl.

"They weren't alone. The pack was hiding and waiting for Roxanne's cue. They had no intention of giving him anything. We had a plan all sorted and your little announcement kick it up a few notches."

"So you knew what you were going to do all along?"

"Yes, the powers thing was just supposed to be a distraction. We knew what we were doing. We had forgotten to account for you though. We should've known you would think they planned to give him their powers to save you. It was a miscalculation but we adjusted. I got you away like I was supposed to and I heard Roxanne give the cue about halway here." As he was explaining there plan, I began to calm down and Alyssa released my shoulders. "I'm sure it's all over and they're just cleaning up the mess now. The pack will be back any minute." I nodded and laid my still throbbing head on the pillow. "Do you want some tylonel?"

"That would be great." I stated.

He was gone and back almost as fast as Edward would've been. It might've had somehting to do with the size of his house but I was impressed all the same. I took the two tylonel and the water he gave me. Once I had swallowed the pills and water, I relaxed a little.

"By the way, this is Alyssa." Jacob said blushing slightly.

"I figured." I stated.

Alyssa and I smiled awlwardly at each other. We were saved the trouble of making conversation by a distant howl. Jacob smiled.

"Kyle's dead and everyone is just fine." he stated.

**A/N: Okay, so I couldn't figure out an ending for this chappy. I didn't want Jacob to have to leave and have an ex meets the new one type moment. Which is why I decided that Jacob just knew his pack well enough to know what the different howls meant. I hope this one turned out alright. The next chapter is her reunion with the pack and the Cullens. I hope you liked this one. Please review!**


	24. Reunions

**BELLA**

"You got that from the howl?" I asked slightly confused but relieved all the same.

"Of course. They're my brothers." Jacob responded. "We've all learned to recognize each other's feelings and emotions in both forms."

I nodded still a little confused but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that it was all over and all of my loved ones were safe. I couldn't wait to see them all. Especially Edward. I wanted nothing more than to jump out of Jake's bed and make him take me back to the Cullens immediately. I knew that would wrong, however because Sam and the others would want to make sure I'm alright. I couldn't deny them that. They had as much right as the Cullens did. Besides, I wanted to thank them for helping the others.

"Sam and the others should be here shortly." Jacob interrupted my thoughts. I nodded. "They just wanna make sure that you're alright and then I'll take you back to the Cullens'."

I thought I was doing good at hiding my want to go back to them. I looked down a little embarrassed.

"Am I that obvious?" I asked.

"No." Jake said. "I just know how horrible it is for me to be away from Alyssa. Besides, after what you've probably been through, I'm surprised that you aren't begging me to take you back right now."

"I would never do that to them." I replied. "I know they're just as worried about me as the Cullens are. I want them to know that I'm alright."

"So you are alright?" Jacob questioned. "And he didn't hurt you at all?"

I wasn't quite sure how to answer that. Sure, I was physically alright but I wasn't sure about my mental state. Kyle had fucked with my head quite a bit in the past twenty four hours or so. Hell, I wasn't even sure if the dreams were really dreams or if he really did hurt me and just made me think it was Edward and Jacob. Now that I thought about, I wasn't sure if that was really Angela. Maybe he was just planning with my head again. That was a major possibility, wasn't it? I had to believe that it was because Angela didn't deserve to die that way.

I knew the first thing that I'd do as soon as I got home was call her. I had to make sure that she was alright. I prayed that she was.

"Bells," I flinched when Jacob used his nickname for me. I hated that Kyle had tainted that too. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." I answered. "Sorry, my thoughts just got away from."

I decided then that I wouldn't tell him about anything that Kyle had done. I didn't want to make him angry when it wasn't necessary. Like he said, Kyle was gone so there was no one for him to take that anger out on. Besides, the things that I had seen would probably traumatize Alyssa. Especially the dream Kyle made me have about Jacob. I didn't want her to see him that way. They were too in love to have it tainted.

I knew I couldn't avoid telling Edward about these things though. If we were going to continue with this relationship, he'd have to know. I'd even have to tell him what Kyle made me see him do.

I knew in my heart that neither of the two boys would ever hurt me like that. Still, it was going to be hard to replace those horrible imagines. I'd just have to keep reminding myself that they loved me and didn't want to see me in any kind of pain. I knew the would support me and do everything in their power to help me through it.

A knock on the front door pulled me from my thoughts.

"It's Sam and the others." Jacob stated. I assumed he could smell them.

"I'll get it." Alyssa offered and exited the room.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Jacob asked again.

"Yes. I'm fine. I promise."

It wasn't much of a lie. Kyle was gone and both of my families were safe. I wasn't in any more immediate danger. Yes, Kyle gave me a few mental scars but they would heal over time. All that mattered was everyone was safe and whole. And the threat to my families lives was gone. Things were by far much better than they were two hours ago.

Alyssa returned with just Sam. I smiled up at him and he returned it.

"The others are out in the living room." he stated. "We didn't want to overwhelm you."

"It's okay." I stated. "You four can come in. I'm fine."

The others managed to squeeze into Jake's small bedroom. I pushed myself up on the bed to make more room for all of them. My brothers spent a good ten minutes embracing me and telling me how glad they were that I was okay. Once the had finished, I cleared mt throat.

"First, I want to thank all of you for helping the Cullens today." Bella stated. "I don't want to think of what would've happened if you hadn't been there to help them. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if any of them got hurt because of me."

"Bella," Sam said. "That's not necessary. You are as much a part of our family as you are theirs. If it helps you then we'll help them. Besides, we;ve all grown rather fond of them since the return. We didn't want to see them hurt. Just like we didn't want to see you hurt."

I nodded.

"And I also want to tell you guys how much I love you." I stated. "I honestly don't know how I would've gotten through the past year without you guys. Your willingness to put your animosity towards the Cullens behind you for my sake means so much to me." I found myself tearing up.

"Bella, just stop." Jared stated. "Like Sam said, you're family and we take care of our family. Plain and simple."

The rest of the group nodded their agreement. I let a couple of tears fall as I embraced each of my brothers once again.

"Now," Sam said after a minute of silence. "I'm sure you're just as anxious to see the Cullens as they are to see you."

I blushed slightly and nodded.

"Jake, take her back to there place." Sam told him. "And make sure Carlisle takes a look at her. It doesn't look like the parasite did too much damge but I want to be sure."

"Of course." Jacob replied. "Do you wanna come along Alyssa?"

"No." Alyssa responded. "I don't think I'm ready to deal with vampires head on just yet."

Jacob nodded and I swore I saw relief cross his features. I smiled slightly as I crawled out of the bed.

We drove the whole way in silence. I don't think either of us knew exactly what to say. I had a feeling Jacob was pondering whether or not he wanted to question me further on my experience. I was thankful that he was refraining. Not only did I not what him hearing about the dreams, but I didn't think I could get through the story without a break down. I would save that for Edward. I needed him to help me tell it. He gave me the strength I needed to get through it.

When we got to the Cullens' house, Jacob helped walked me to the door. Alice was already out the door and halfway across the yard before we even went two steps to the door. She flung her arms around. I imagined she'd be crying if she could. Jacob politely stayed out of the way as the others rushed out to take their turns. It was a scene much like with the pack. That is until it was Edward's turn.

He was still in the doorway when the others got finished with their greetings. It seemed as though he couldn't believe that I was back and alive. I smiled and ran towards him. Using his speed, he caught me in his arms halfway through my third step. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in him. His arms were around my waist and he buried his face in my hair. I could hear the sound of sniffing. I surpressed my chuckle in an effort to not ruin the moment.

After a minute he pulled me away from him and brought his lips crashing against mine. I kissed him back with as much fervor as I could. I didn't care that the entire family was watching this display or that my ex-boyfriend was still there.

Edward and I were the only thing that mattered at the moment. We were both alive and together. I held him closer as we deepened the kiss, willing him to know that I'd never let him go.

**EDWARD**

The hour after we'd destroyed Kyle was the longest hour of my life. I wanted nothing more than to see Bella and know that she was safe and well. I wished I could've just marched straight down to La Push and brought her back myself. My family, of course, had the same idea. We knew though, that it was best just to wait.

The wolves needed this time with Bella as bad as we did. She was family to them as well. They'd want to make sure she was okay as well. Besides, we knew we couldn't do anything to endanger the lines of the treaty. Although, we were currently on good terms with the wolves, they still had a job to protect their tribe from us. We knew the minute we them endanger, the truce was over.

I wasn't worried that she wasn't safe. It was just killing me to be away from her after a close call like that. I needed to be able to hold her in my arms and have concretet evidence that everything was all right.

When we heard the distant sound of tires rolling up the drive, Alice bounded for the window and waited for them to pull up. She was the first one out the door when they finally did. The family quickly followed. I hung back to let them get everything out because I knew the minute she was in my arms, she wasn't leaving them for a very long time.

It took a good ten minutes or so but they finally finished. Once every cleared so I could see her, I just stared unsure if she was real or not. After a second she started to run toward me. I was too elated for human speed. She was in my arms halfway through her third step. I felt her wrap her as around my neck and bury her face into it. I, in turn, wrapped my arms around her waist and buried my face in her hair. I took pleasure in inhaling her wonderful scent.

I needed to feel her lips against mine. I pulled her from my body and brought mine crashing against hers. I could feel her responding to the kiss they way she usually did but I didn't pull away. The fear of losing control was far from my mind. In fact, every logical thought had gone from my head.

It didn't matter that the family was was watching our display. Or that her ex boyfriend was still there. In fact, their thoughts of disgust or hilarity were the farthest thing from my mind. I didn't even care that she reeked of wolf. Bella and I were all that mattered at the moment. She was safe and alive and we were together. I felt her grip tighten around me as we deepened the kiss.

I felt like she was trying to tell me that she wasn't ever going to let me. That was fine with me because I wasn't planning on let her go either.

I promised myself, in that moment, that I would do anything I could to prevent her from ever being taken from me or hurt ever again.

**TO BE CONTINUED......**

**A/N: And that my friends is the end of Hurt Like This. I hope you enjoyed it. I know you're all still wondering what actually happened to Angela. I'm not sure yet but I let you know in part three, Miles From Where You Are. The first chapter should be up by Saturday but I'll probably do a teaser for you guys tommorow. I hope you all enjoyed the second installment. I will warn you that part three will have a mature rating. It's going to be more morbid than what I've done in this series so far. I guess that's it though. Please review and tell me what you thought of the whole story. **


	25. Miles From Where You Are Preview

**A/N: Okay, here is a small preview of what's to come in Miles From Where You Are. **

**ARO**

I sat in my room for a long time after Carlisle left. His story about his family's human gave me much to think about. There were so many possibilities to consider when I thought about how to deal with her. Most of them time we just killed any humans who happened to find out our secrets. Unless, of course, we could benefit from having them join our world. From everything Carlisle had showed me, though, it didn't seem like this girl was all that special.

I was very curious about the hold she had on the family, though. I could see from Carlisle's memories that they'd do anything and give up everything for her. I knew I could use that to my advantage if I could only get my hands on her. I could use her to get one or more of the things I've been coveting from them. The problem was getting her to me without any of them getting hurt.

"Jane," I said after a minute. "I have a mission for you, my dear."

**A/N: What do you think? There are a few things that I have to say. I got the intial idea for this one from TheVampiricAngel (sp) who wrote the story Aro's Pet. Unfortunately, for reasons that are her business she had to take the story down before it really got going. I loved some of the things she did with it and will be incorporating some of her morbidness in this next one. Don't worry. There's probably only going to be two horrendously bad chapters. And yes, I realize that the Volturi aren't really the way that I'm going to write them but these are the kind of things that pop into my head when I think of the Volturi. I don't know why I feel like that but I think they would be more sadistic if it wasn't a young adult novel but who knows. I just hope I don't lose too many readers for this. Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you to The VampiricAngel (sp) for giving me permission to use some of her stuff from Aro's Pet. I hope I do you justice. **


	26. Without You Trailer

**A/N: I knwo you guys are probably getting sick of the author's notes all of the time, but I just wanted to let you know that the amazing, Lis123 has struck again. She made a trailer/video for the entire Without You Series. I thought that I'd leave a note on all of my stories. If you've read the series, you should watch the video to see how awesome she is and if you haven't she did a fantastic job of depicting the story and you should check out the video. Anyway, her Youtube channel is Lisalmf123 and the video is titled Without You Series. You should all check it out and leave her some love. **


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